Theodore Read Free Page B

you would risk putting your daughter in harm's way on
our account.  You have already done so much already.”
    Janice laughed and beeped Theodore on the nose.  “Silly cat,
you don't know my daughter; if I didn't invite her along, she would have just
followed us anyway.  It is easier to keep an eye on her this way.  She's a good
girl, a tough and street smart girl.”  She sighed proudly, “She was only twelve
when she helped me perform an emergency caesarian in the bathroom above a
meth-house.  Mother and child both did well, and we got them out of there! ” 
The last part was not a happy sound as Theodore could feel the lady's hatred of
the situation.  Yet, at the same time he could feel her pride for Anna.  The
situation seemed quite remarkable, but Theodore had no reason to doubt her. 
From what he had already seen of the family, there was not a trace of doubt in
his mind.
    Anna soon rejoined them; her new attire was both practical
and inconspicuous.  Her movements were muted; Theodore guessed that the added
stiffness in her body language was her armor.  How strange it was to think of
this loving family having body armor in their standard wardrobe.  But that is
the price of caution when dealing with people of all walks of life.  Rather
than fear those situations, this family embraced it as a professional
challenge.  Anna and Theodore just stood there in silence, unsure what to say
or do while her mother slipped away to change her own attire.
    Janice soon rejoined them, looking quite different in fact. 
While Anna's outfit and mannerism were muted, Janice radiated calm and
professionalism.  No one would think twice that she was a doctor in her own
right, she held herself high and proud.   Proud, but with an air of practiced
caution: Theodore noticed a small pistol tucked neatly away and she openly
carried a stun gun.
    “Mom!  What about Theodore, um... Dad's armor is way too big
for him...”
    Janice gritted her teeth at the sudden observation, but Theodore
just shook his head, “I'm fine.  Thank you.”
    “Theodore!  These people bombed your hotel room!  They
aren't to be trifled with!” retorted Anna.
    Theodore just smiled.  Like most Highland Taik boys, he'd
been playing with swords in formal practice since he was eight.  As his age had
marched on so had his training: wooden swords gave way to steel blades. 
Steel... in name only.  One of the most practiced traditions in the Highlands
dated back more than two thousand years.  It involved moving things into and
out of a pocket dimension on command.  Live Steel was the common moniker, but
it was far more complicated and useful than a simple steel.  This Steel arose
for one purpose: to defend the Highlands.  Whether it was the product of the
Ancients as many guessed, a side effect of the Guardians as some hypothesized,
or was something entirely different made no mind to Theodore; it was a skill he
knew well and invoked it for the sake of reassuring his human hosts.
    Anna shrieked and laughed, wide eyed and giddy as all around
Theodore exploded a waterfall of blue sparks.  The sparks quickly fell away
revealing Theodore standing before them encased in an iridescent metal armor. 
He held a sinister looking poleaxe in his left hand.  He held it out to the
side and dropped it, only to have it disappear in a second wave of blue sparks,
never to hit the floor.   His armor disappeared a heartbeat later in the same
blue glow that had heralded its arrival.  “Highlanders do manage to hold their
own,” he grinned.
    For the first time that evening, Janice was caught flat
footed.  Her awestruck face and slack jaw spoke volumes, “Um... That was real
Live Steel!  I've heard of it.  Seen it described often, but...”
    “That was awesome!” finished Anna with a giddy laugh.  “Can
it really stop a bullet?”
    Theodore grinned, “My first year at the university we played
a bit with the linear accelerators in the undergraduate physics