It's odd that your phone cut out when we were talking," Lena said. "I haven't been able to isolate any problem, with your network and your phone either. So, I don't know. Something odd is happening."
"But, there's a definite connection with Summerholt and Cadmus?"
Lena answered with a nod. She joined Harry and Imra as they walked about the Kent Farm. The last couple of days had been quite as eventful as they were ever going to be. Jessie was secured about as well as she could be. Lena looked into Cadmus.
"Seems that way. There's a lot more questions than answers. Even if Lionel's not involved, he must know something."
"And he won't tell you if he did," Harry said. "At least not directly."
Lena turned around and walked up the driveway. She was deep in thought. And also had been considering Imra's plight.
"You want to head back to your time. But, the materials have not been invented for another five hundred years. That's a problem."
"Yes," Imra agreed. "It is."
"But, it's not impossible to create a workaround," Lena said. "I enjoy a challenge. But, I have something to ask you. It's been eating away from me ever since the Caves. Ever since Holdsclaw."
"Yes?" Harry asked her.
"Have you considered letting Lex in on your secret? Or at least some of it?"
Harry raised his eyebrow. He did consider it, but there had never been the right opportunity to do so. Lex had discounted the idea of reincarnation off hand, which would make this a lot harder to deal with.
"Just think about it," Lena said to him. "Lionel's maneuvering in and he may try and get in Lex's head. Maneuvering against us. If Lex and Lionel ever get on the same page, they could be a formidable team. Would it be a lot easier to get Lex on our side?"
Harry could tell that Lex had been at a crossroads for some reasons. A second passed with Harry deep in thought. He brushed the thought to the side as he noticed someone at the edge of the Kent Property. It couldn't be? Could it?"
Claire Selton, better known as Volcana, had been peering over the edge of her sunglasses She tried to get Harry's eye. Harry rushed over to him.
"We have to talk."
"Last time you ran out on me."
"You were there. At Cadmus. And looking into Summerholt. And your little girlfriend, the reporter you work with at the high school, she's been asking around. What kind of Pandora's box have you opened now, Green-Eyes?"
The question could not be answered, due to a car hurling down the road at top speed towards Harry and Claire. Harry wrapped his arms around Claire and shot them both out of the way. The car and it's driver ran headlong into a fence post and took it out.
The man had been damaged. Harry pulled open the door of the car with Lena and Imra rushing down to check them. Harry noticed a flicker of something in the man's mind.
"What's going on?"
"I've called an ambulance!" Lena yelled. "I don't know what he's playing at."
"I don't even know if he knows. There's something wrong with this man's brain...call Mom and tell her to stay late at work tonight. I don't like this."
Harry looked up at the road. There had been no one around for miles. No cars, no people, but a sense of uneasy overall which caused goosebumps to rise on Harry's arms.
Harry, Lena, and Claire made their way back to Lena's Penthouse. Claire had taken a cup of coffee although she wanted something a bit stronger.
"You and Chloe," Claire said. "You were talking to Molly Griggs. She was at Summerholt when I was there, although from what I heard Summerholt did quite a number on her. Not that she was stable to begin with."
"She was anxious," Harry said. "Nervous. It was almost like she was trying to tell us, but fighting something."
"She was programmed to be an assassin by Garner, and she can manipulate electronics to send subconscious messages to have a person kill someone," Claire said. "All, but the strongest willed of people would be effected them."
"Or if the phone in question failed on purpose," Harry said.
"So, that's what happened?"
Harry nodded in response to Lena's question. He watched Claire get up to her feet and pretty much wear a hole through the edge of the carpet.
"She could be trying to break free. She could be calling out for help. But, Garner and Knox, they're masters of mental manipulation."
"Lena, hand me a pad of paper."
Lena did so and a pen. Harry closed his eyes.
"What are you doing?" Claire asked.
"Trying to recall the few images I saw in the man's head. His mind is off. If I can replicate his neutral network in his mind, I can show you. There has to be something about it."
Harry's hand whirled across the paper and he replicated it. He noticed the map had been made out of binary code. Harry's fingers whirled over the paper and exposed the code into a message. Lena and Claire leaned over and read it.
"Help me, I'm drowning?" Claire asked. "What does that mean?"
Imra popped into the room.
"It means she was trying to send you a message," Imra said. "She's struggling against her own conditioning, but she can't. Not without help. Mentally she's drowning. And everyone who bonds to you, their brains are tamper proof."
"That's good to know," Harry said. "But, that doesn't rule out third party people."
It was a good thing that Harry had Chloe with him last night, safely away from Molly. Right now she was on her way to school, with Alex, and Harry would be joining them.
"Claire. Hang tight here with Lena and Imra. The security should protect you."
"Another cage," Claire said. "Can't believe I'm trusting a Luthor with my well-being."
That statement caused a quizzical look to appear on Lena's face. Claire said nothing else, and she remained guarded with everyone other than Harry. She only emptied the cup of the coffee.
"I haven't seen Molly since that day,' Chloe said. "You must have ruffled someone's feathers."
"I have no idea how they knew it was me," Harry said.
"Well, if it's Lionel, he might already know," Alex said.
"Lionel?" Harry asked. "I don't think so."
"Well, there's been a lot of donations coming in from Summerholt," Alex said. "From am L. Luthor."
"Given how common that first initial is with that last name, it doesn't really narrow it down," Chloe said. "However, just this morning, my contact from Gotham uncovered something interesting."
Harry and Alex had been all ears.
"Lillian Luthor was on the Summerholt Board of Directors back in the eighties. Although, when she grew ill and eventually died, it obviously went under new management."
"Yes," Harry said. "Garner."
"And Knox," Chloe said. "Both doctors who have credentials, but there's been a few investigations who have gone nowhere."
"Money talks, bullshit walks?" Alex asked.
"Exactly," Chloe said. "And Cadmus, it was Lillian Luthor's pet project. But, it was supposed to be a center to finding a cure for AIDs. And Lionel shut down operations before it was even cold. And sold it to Hardwick."
"Before Hardwick sold it to a mysterious backer."
"Does Lena know any of this?" Alex asked.
"I'll ask her. But…."
A figure teleported right beside Chloe, with a knife in her hand. Harry blinked and caught sight of Alicia Baker who came seconds away from plunging the knife down into Chloe's jugular. Harry took the knife away from her in a blink of an eye. But, Alicia grabbed Chloe, a glazed over look in her eye and slammed her hard into some walkers.
Alex tried to punch Alicia. She kept teleporting out of the way.
"She's not in her right mind!"
"Obviously!" Alex yelled. "I'm trying to knock her out!"
Harry froze Alicia mid-teleport and this allowed Harry and Alex to restrain her. Alicia had been struggling and she tried to teleport twice. She struggled and squirmed.
Lana and Emily rushed over. They saw Alex and Harry wrestling Alicia down to the ground, after she finally calmed down. Chloe had been slumped against the lockers, with a gash on her head.
"Someone called the cops," Lana said. "Why did Alicia attack her?"
Abigail Fine came down the steps and gave Lana and Emily a hand to help her to the nurse's office. Chloe staggered around, the obvious signs of a concussion. Her eyes glazed and flickered.
"Harry?" Alicia murmured. "How did I get here?"
Lena flipped through some documents and decided to dive deep into Cadmus. She knew Lillian had been involved with it back in the day, although the extent leading up to her death floored her. She heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Lionel stepped in front of Lena.
"You should know there's a suspicious character stalking around the LuthorCorp facilities."
"You should narrow it down to the list of the people who are willing to do you harm," Lena said. "Which might keep you busy for a while, granted."
"It's serious," Lionel said. "I saw him and Lex did as well."
"So, you're no longer blind?" Lena asked. "Will miracles never cease. Well, that seems like a LuthorCorp problem more than a Horizon problem. You know, Horizon, the company that I'm running in."
"Yes, I'm aware you've branched out on your own. But, most will not care. They see the name Luthor and that's where their research ends. Old prejudices die hard. Just keep your eyes open and trust no one."
"Mmm, I'll keep that in mind. But, I'm curious about something. Where was Lillian buried?"
Lionel had been caught off guard by this question.
"Lillian wasn't buried. You know she was cremated. It was her wishes. Her ashes were spread across her favorite park."
Lionel invited himself to sit down. Lena only paid him the most casual of interest.
"Why so curious right now?"
Lionel almost answered his own question by zeroing in on the large folder on the edge of Lena's desk. He picked up the folder and flipped through the documents. With each document pertaining to Cadmus and with Summerholt, Lionel grew more and more agitated. He dropped the folder on the desk, practically slamming it down.
"Lena, you are going to drop this immediately."
"I no longer live under your roof," Lena said.
"What does this prove? Digging up old information. Yes, Lillian had been involved in her own pet projects. I didn't understand many of them, and thought they were a waste of time and money. It's the past."
"Did she die the way you say she died?" Lena asked.
"Yes, I told you the truth!" Lionel snapped.
"Did she?" Lena asked. "Or are you afraid to see the truth?"
Lionel stood up to his full height. Lena did not back down from him.
"I know what you're doing. But, I'm not going to let you disgrace the memory of my wife. Your stepmother. We didn't have to take you in."
"Yes, I know you didn't," Lena said.
And Lena found it rather rich that Lionel had been white knighting Lillian, a woman who he had been cheating on while she was sick, in and out of the hospital. Lionel's eyes locked onto Lena.
"Whatever suspicions you're cooking up, don't tell Lex. He's finally over what happened to his mother. You don't want to be responsible for any relapse he might have. His psyche has been fragile ever since what happened to Julian. After the near miss with Holdsclaw, and the tornado, well, he can't handle another trigger."
Lena said nothing. At least for a minute. She could smile as Lionel seemed rather rattled.
"Do you need my security to show you the door?"
"I'm going. But, I hope you're not cruel enough to shatter the pedestal Lex has put his mother on."
This made Lena more curious, despite Lionel's words of discouragement. Now, he knew, and now he was trying to hide something. Her phone lit up and it was Harry.
"A classmate of mine was influenced by Molly. She attacked Chloe."
"Is she okay?" Lena asked.
"Chloe's just got a cut and a mild concussion from getting slammed into a locker," Harry told her. "But, I want you to meet me, Alex, and Eliza. Remember the watch I gave you?"
"Yes, press the red button if I'm in trouble," Lena said.
"Well, there's a blue button on it as well," Harry said. "It should bring you to the Clinic. And with that, you can drive up with us. Unless you're busy."
"No. I can make time."
Alicia sat in the cell and looked rather forlorn. Oh, she did a very bad thing, she knew it. She had been locked in a holding cell. She really hoped she did not hurt Chloe too badly. There were people in that school that she might attack, but why she attacked Chloe, well Alicia's mind was foggy.
"You're being released. Under the custody of Doctor Danvers."
Alicia did not thank her good fortune, not yet. She noticed Harry standing there and observing her with a neutral look. Alex and Eliza had been there and behind them had been Lena Luthor.
"Alicia," Eliza said.
"I swear to God I didn't mean to attack her. I don't know what happened."
"Let's get to the van first," Alex told her. "We...better be careful."
Harry scanned the area.
"No one's been compromised. Let's go."
They moved outside. Alex, Lena, and Harry all kept their eyes locked onto Alicia.
"I was outside of my locker one moment," Alicia said. "My phone went off and then the next minute…."
"You were on the ground," Harry said.
"Right," Alicia agreed. "People are going to think the worst of me. My parents aren't going to stick up for me."
"There's some dangerous people out there that don't want the truth out."
Alicia looked rather curiously at Harry. Harry produced a bracelet. It shined brightly and Harry snapped it around her wrist.
"Just to make sure you're going to remain in place until we figure out your mind is clean," Harry said. "The last guy who attacked me, he was in a coma when he ran into a tree. And there's no telling how long the binary in your mind is going to last."
"What's this about dangerous people?" Alicia asked.
Alicia got in the back seat behind Alex and Harry. Lena got in front and Alicia noticed a concealed gun. Eliza had her hands on the steering wheel and pulled off.
"So, where are we heading back to?" Alicia asked. "The Clinic."
"No," Harry said. "I'm going to put you asleep just in case."
"Right," Alicia said. "Better safe than sorry."
Harry gently tapped Alicia on the head and put her under. He brushed a hair out of her head.
'I'm ready,' Imra projected in their minds.
Alicia woke up, sitting in the chair in a dark room. Harry, Eliza, Alex, and Lena were with here, along with two other women, who Harry introduced in no time.
"This is Claire," Harry said. "She's a meteor mutant like you."
"Hey," Claire said.
"And this is Imra. She's a friend. And she's going to help us figure out what happened with your mind and if there's any other threat."
From the surface, Harry figured out there was nothing wrong. However, Imra was able to delve in a little bit deeper and read Alicia's mind. Alicia looked at them for a few seconds. Harry could understand how reluctant she was. He reached in and grabbed her hand to calm her down a little bit.
"I know you're nervous. I would like it if someone was poking around in my mind. But, it needs to be done."
A few more seconds passed and Alicia answered with a heaving sigh and a nod to match.
"Fine, go with it. But, I'm sorry for anything you might find in there."
"Don't worry, we won't go to places that are not relevant," Imra assured her. "Just close your eyes, relax, and focus on today. Focus on the seconds before everything went blank. Just relax."
Alicia did her best to relax. And mind reading had been nothing like she expected. Harry grabbed Imra's hand with one hand and Alicia's hand in the other hand, doing a very casual deep-dive into her mind.
"The order to attack is in your mind, along with some more code."
Magical numbers flashed through the air. Then Harry translated the code which he pulled it from Alicia's mind.
"A lot of waffle," Alex commented. "The only thing I understand is the words Room 402."
This made Claire stand up straight in surprise.
"I know that's where it is. That's where we were tested for our abilities to be assessed. And not all of those tests were pleasant."
Harry mentally read that as none of the tests which went in the fabled Room 402 were even present. He brushed a lock of hair out of his face and thought about what he needed to do.
"It's time for me to head to Summerholt. It's a cry for help."
"Or a trap," Lena offered.
"Either way," Harry responded.
"I want to come too."
Claire's tone had been a bit even, although there had been a small part of her who had been nervous. Nervous and rightfully so. Harry put his hand on her shoulder.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. It's time for me to face my demons."
"I'll come as well," Imra said.
"Count me in."
Alex's tone received one of those looks from Eliza, and Eliza shook her head.
"Not this time. Not with what we have seen. Everything is too dangerous, much too dangerous. You could get hurt."
"What if Harry needs my back up…."
"Alexandra, absolutely not. This isn't...this isn't up for debate at all. You could get hurt. And I don't want that all my conscious."
The two Danvers women locked eye to eye with each other. It had been a battle of wills, the likes of which Harry had not seen in a long time. Harry decided to cut off the argument.
"Stay behind, for now," Harry said. "Imra and Claire should be more than enough. Besides, the more of us are there, the more they're going to be on our guard."
"I'll be standing by if you need any help," Lena said. "I have an idea of the best way to get into Summerholt. They might not know until it is much too late."
Lena handed Harry the outline that she had drawn up. Claire and Imra stood one ither side of her, eying it and they both nodded. Yes, this could work.
"I want results. And I want them now!"
Doctor Garner looked at a very terrified Molly Griggs who was shaking like mad. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed it extremely tight to make her quiver underneath his hand.
"Two attempts to take out Harry Kent. Both of them failed. And all it did was gain his attention. Is that what you want? Is that what you want?"
Garner came as close as he could to striking someone, but decided not to. Psychologically manipulation was far more effective than physical violence anyway.
"You would be in a dark hole if it wasn't for me. Or you would have been sent upstate. But, I've taken a liking to you and this is the thanks I get! You're ungrateful, Molly!"
"He's not stupid!" Molly snapped. "I…."
"You were supposed to entrap him by feeding those bread crumbs to his associate," Garner said. "Unfortunately, you told him way too much. And your botched killing attempts told him even more."
"It's…."
"Damn it, Molly, both of our lives are on the line. And now she won't be happy."
The doors blew open at that point in the figures appeared in front of them. Garner recognized one as Volcana, another one of his rogue test subjects. The hate in her eyes confirmed that much. The blonde woman had been a knew and unsettling development, and obviously, the man, while obscured, had to be the fabled Traveler.
"It's over."
Garner pressed a button and caused Molly's eyes to cloud over. He bolted to the elevator, after giving Molly her marching orders.
In a blink of an eye, Harry rushed over and slapped a collar around Molly's neck to nullify how she could react.
"RELEASE SUBJECT P!"
A young man with glowing eyes stalked towards him. The tips of his fingers were purple. His arrival had blocked them from grabbing onto Garner.
"The Parasite," Imra said. "You must not allow him to touch you…."
Harry figured as much with the strange energy. He was going to go to the side, to consult with Claire, only she was nowhere to be found. Well, that was unfortunate, but Harry had to press forward.
The Parasite dove at Harry and sent a blast of white hot matter at him. Harry could feel the pulsing burn coming from his fingertips. The ground underneath Harry shook and then more fireballs had been shot at him. Harry noticed an apparatus hooked to him. It had several vials and if Harry had to guess, it was harvested meteor mutant powers which he tapped into.
Summerholt had this weapon on staff, to take Harry down. Harry barely was able to dodge the bolts of lightning which came from the tips of his hand. Harry flipped over the man's head.
"Your powers will be the most delicious!"
Harry supercharged a cart and flung it at Parasite! Ropes shot around Parasite to restrain him. Parasite ripped through the ropes and dove at Harry! For a brief second, the creature thought he nabbed his prey. Only for Harry to disappear into a wisp of smoke.
Several more shadow copies of Harry appeared around the Parasite. Each of them frustrating the creature more. Imra and Harry stood off to the side.
'If we get that apparatus off of him, you can take him out easily.'
Imra locked onto the creature's mind. It was only brief and he dove towards her. Harry grabbed Imra's hand and teleported them out of his grasp. The last thing they wanted was the Parasite to grab her powers.
"Head's up!"
Harry dropped a large piece of the ceiling on the Parasite. However, a glowing orb shielded him from the vast majority of the ceiling being dropped on his head.
Imra moved over to Molly, who watched the battle.
"This is the type of monster they create," Molly murmured.
'You can stop this. Overload his apparatus.'
Molly realized the telepathic blonde had been in her head. The battle between Harry and the Parasite continued, with the Parasite sending various jagged pieces of metal at Harry. Harry melted them all with his heat vision as they came close to her and then sent the Parasite into a cocoon of some kind of sticky material.
Parasite ripped his way through the material with jagged spikes for fingers.
"How many different powers did they shove into this thing?"
"Just enough to get yours!"
Harry blocked the attack with a well placed concussion blast. Parasite bounced back to his feet and dodged the attack.
"Molly. I know you've made some mistakes. But undoing it starts with a simple set. I'm going to deactivate that collar. And hope you do the right thing."
Molly wondered what the right thing was anymore. She would find out. A flash of light emitted from her eyes and she locked onto the collar.
The Parasite stopped glowing. The only power he had was his power to absorb the power of others.
Then, Harry jumped behind him and sent a super charged blast of magic into the device. It overloaded the device and also overloaded the Parasite's powers.
Just seconds before Molly collapsed on the chair she had been sitting in. Her mind had been screaming out in frustration.
"I'll tend to her," Imra said. "Go for Claire."
Garner bolted down the hallway, with a briefcase in hand. He rushed, as fast as his legs could carry him. Suddenly, several blasts of fire shot up from the floor. And then, Volcana appeared in front of them with a smile on her.
"Afraid of the heat, Doctor? You didn't seem to mind when you were tormenting me to see how strong my powers were to set things on fire."
"Watch out, there are flammable chemicals close by."
"Don't worry, I have control. I won't burn anything that I don't want to burn."
And with that, the flames encircled Garner. All Claire had to do was wave her hand and the flames would close in. Sweat rolled down Garner's face, as he dropped to his knees.
"I was just following orders. I swear."
"That excuse doesn't fly with me. But, don't worry, I'll make it quick. It's Doctor Knox who I really want to see fry."
Out of the blue, Harry turned up. Garner's pleading, quivering eyes turned towards him.
"You have to save me. That's what you do. You're supposed to fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. You are the Smallville Savior. You can't let her burn me!"
"I don't know," Harry said. "You know a lot about me. Why?"
"I...I only know what I was told, and what she told me. And I didn't mean to hurt all of these people. I was just following orders."
Something Harry knew was a lie either.
"Doctor Knox was the real monster."
"He was," Claire confirmed. "But, you're not a little boy scout who didn't have his hands filthy as well. And people like you deserve to burn."
"SHE'S BUILDING AN ARMY! TO TAKE YOU DOWN!"
Harry waved his hand and Claire's flames disappeared. He stood over Claire and the room got completely cold.
"Who is she?"
Garner was seconds away from answering. Only, he got a knife straight to the neck which dropped him. The figure faded into the shadows and vanished before Harry got a good look at him.
"NO!"
Claire's eyes went wide and the entire room heated up. It had been a very long time since she lost control like this, but she was incensed that someone just stole Garner away from her. Killed him.
Harry, sensed the danger, and grabbed Claire around the shoulders. He pulled her into an extremely passionate kiss. Claire stopped, and returned the kiss with equal fire. She might have taken Harry right here in the hallway, had there not been visitors. And she had still been seriously complicated the manner.
Imra walked over with a dazed Molly. She did not look too well.
"There are no more patients," Molly murmured. "Here. Only the Parasite and Garner had them all moved. He was going to destroy this facility after I had you killed. But, I didn't really want to. Your eyes, they're so beautiful."
Molly started screaming out in pain.
"It feels like my head is about to explode."
Imra put her under and turned to Harry.
"She has a control chip implanted in her. In case she went rogue. She's been fighting it, but it's taken a toll on her. Fortunately, you have the ability to extract it."
"Guess me going rogue caused some problems," Claire said. "Poor kid."
Molly woke up and could feel a bump on her forehead.
"It's healing," Harry said. "Are you okay?"
"Okay, I'm better than I've been in years," Molly said. "Thanks to you. But where am I?"
"A safe place. You should get some rest."
Molly, along with Claire and Alicia, had been moved to the lower levels of Horizon. Molly just frowned.
"Hard to rest with those people out there."
"I know. But you have to try. I'll be back to visit you later."
"Okay, I'll hold you to that."
Harry stepped out to the hallway, where Lena, Alex, and Kara had been all waiting for him.
"This has gone from bad to worse," Kara summarized.
"Whoever this head of Cadmus is, she's building an army, and given that you know, she might accelerate her plans," Lena said. "And now I feel we've unearthed something really bad."
"Is the Pocket Dimension ready?" Kara asked.
"Yes," Harry told her.
"Good," Kara said. "As much as it makes me anxious, Jor-El's council might be invaluable."
"And...it's time for us to sit down with Lex and let him in on everything that's happening," Lena said. "Especially with what Lionel told me."
Harry raised his eyebrow and Lena elaborated for him. She told him about the conversation she had with Lionel and how Lionel had been not too happy about her digging around in Lillian's past.
"Wow, that's...that just makes Lionel look guilty of something," Harry said. "Although, I'm not sure what."
Yes, Lena had not been able to piece together. She had the brief, crazy thought that something about Lillian's death had been staged, and maybe, just maybe, there was more to it than met the eye. Whether she died in different circumstances or something else entirely, she had no idea.
"Could be many things," Alex said. "Oh, Mom said she would be there later to check on the girls. She apologizes for the inconvenience."
Lena waved her hand and waved Alex's apology off.
"No, it's not a problem. They might tell us a lot while they're here, even if they don't understand it And as it pertains to my family, I want to know the truth."
Suddenly, Lena had realized she almost forgot something with the excitement today.
"Also, I have a present for you. Considering how you like to risk your life helping Harry."
Lena opened up a box and presented a gauntlet to Alex.
"It creates armor and a shield, and several other nifty features which we'll run through tomorrow," Lena said. "The point is, next time you head out to risk your neck, you'll be protected."
"That will make Mom both happy and anxious," Alex said.
Upstairs, Harry returned to Chloe's room. The cut on her head healed, and now she was pacing up and down the bedroom floor.
"You do realize you should be in bed, right?"
"Yes, mother," Chloe said with a roll of her eyes. "Just bored, I guess. So, what's been going on with you?"
One overly long tale later, which did a job of making Chloe's boredom less prominent, she just whistled.
"So, something big's going on, bigger than we thought at first," Chloe said. "And as for telling Lex, well if you think the time is right, you should. I trust your judgment."
"Lena and Alex will agree with you, Kara's a bit less for it, but she trusts that I'll be able to do the right thing."
"As she should," Chloe said. "It's like ripping a bandaid off. Brief pain, but it's over in an instant."
Harry sat down and Chloe sat on his lap. She had gotten a clean bill of health, with the only prescription being bed rest.
"And so you didn't waste your trip up here."
Chloe pressed her lips to Harry's. Perhaps, she should take it easy, but Chloe had never been one to follow doctor's orders to the letter.