Page 23 of Abraxas

“Who did you hire for the spa?” Abe asked.

“An outside company will be renting the space and running it themselves. I thought that would be best with all the other things that we're trying to get going. There will also be a well-known fast-food place on the property that will be handling its own business and only paying rent. I'm hoping they will do well, and they are starting on the first of the week next week, too. Their areas are already ready for them to move in and start," Lu explained.

“That sounds like a good idea, Lu," Zepar offered.

“I've heard that many places like this are doing that. It gives them less to worry about," Lu admitted.

Abe had to admit that Lu seemed to have a better handle on things than he expected. Why was it he was still expecting a disaster? Maybe some demons that hadn't been interested would step up if things were going badly. The biggest concern was security because, during a big grand opening, there was so much excitement people could slip in. An Origin agent in the middle of things would be a terrible issue. They may be hard to recognize since they didn't know all the Origin agents. Theywould have a variety of demons covering the surveillance room, and he hoped that would be good enough.

All the worry was giving Abe a headache. He'd have felt better if he knew he would see Gloria tonight, but it was late, and he knew he wasn't going to. It was amazing how Lu could pull a plan together with so many holes in it and not worry at all. He wasn't sure if he wished he could do that or not. Abe was sure he wouldn't have the kind of luck that Lu managed to pull off. Part of his luck was that everyone else scrambled to try to cover any issues that came up that he hadn't considered. Abe had a feeling that there would be a lot of issues.

It was time to go to his room and get as much sleep as possible before he got up in the morning and met Gloria. Maybe it was bad to feel so excited about something happening, but he was excited, and he was sure Cirrus would be upset when he saw the other doctor. Maybe he would let something out that they needed to know. Even if he didn't, he might try to get a hold of the other people at Origin and tell them something that would be helpful.

Abe wasn't sure, but he was ready for something to happen, even if it was something bad. Yeah, that was ridiculous, and he knew that it was, but he didn't care. He would be with Gloria to protect her, and everyone else had their own defenses in line. It was hard to imagine that the man would be crazy enough to try to attack anyone. He wasn't sure what the new doctor would do. He'd heard she had balls, and they would soon find out if that was true. She would be shocked coming face to face with Cirrus, but he'd probably feel worse.

Chapter 9

Samantha

Abe sat with Gloria in the cafeteria, where they planned to bring Samantha, the new doctor. He saw Lu sitting with Cirrus and talking casually. The guy must think that the demons were complete idiots and would believe any story that he would pass to them. It was time to start testing him and see how he would react to what could only be stress. The plane had circled and was now landing, and she would be in here quickly.

He had to admit that he wasn't sure what she would look like or how she would act. Abe would have asked Risa about her, but Lu didn't want him to. He wasn't even sure their doctor knew her, so it might not have mattered. There was a feeling of excitement running through the cafeteria because everyone knew what would happen, and they were all wondering what the reactions would be. The single guys wondered if she was pretty and interesting enough to go out with. The others were just wondering if some problems were about to be unleashed.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for their pilot to bring her through the door. The door opened, and a gorgeous redhead walked through first, followed by their demon pilot. She looked about thirty, but sometimes it was hard to tell. Cirrus glanced up, and Abe would swear he looked like he was hit in the gut. He began looking around like he was looking for exits to make his great escape. There was no way he could escape and still have the respect of anyone in the cafeteria.

While he didn't know what they were saying, he could tell Lu was feeling him out about the new doctor. Samantha looked pissed and as if she couldn't believe that he was there. That made sense, considering she had been abused, starved, and isolated, and he was probably the one who had put forth the order. No one seemed to like Cirrus, and he wondered how the guy would explain that to Lu. Maybe he wouldn't even try. It was a hopeless cause. In a week, another doctor would show up, and there was no way she was going to like him either.

Lu greeted Samantha, and Cirrus hurried away, probably going to the lab or his room. Abe had a feeling that the guy's whole day had been ruined. Lu led Samantha around and began to introduce her to some of the demons. It seemed several knew her, and they gave her hugs. None of them had given Cirrus a hug. He didn't know what they could have done differently, but he was beginning to think that they needed to get more information from their own people and put it somewhere where it was available to be referenced.

Gloria had watched everything intently. “No one likes that guy. I believe some demons resent him being here," she admitted.

Had they? None of them said a word, but now that she mentioned it, they shot him with ugly looks. Maybe he needed to talk to them more and let them know that if they knew anything about anyone brought into the facility, that information needed to be passed on. Zeus and the gods had information like that, but that wasn't good enough. They needed that kind of information, too. Both groups could share their information, but they needed to have all of it. It was just another place where they were playing catch-up with the gods.

“Really wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be.” Gloria offered. “From what I've heard of Samantha, I thought she would jump on him and start beating the crap out of him.”

“I think she was tempted, but she was trying to control herself because she was new here," Abe chuckled. The two of them may come to a breaking point, and if they do, we'll all get a show. I wonder which one will be the toughest and when the fight will be?"

“I'd put money on her. She's got a lot of anger locked away, waiting to be released. It's like a volcano when it gets ready to blow.”

“I have a feeling they might try to settle this privately. We'll have to keep our eyes out for bruises, black eyes, that kind of thing," Abe observed.

“You really think so?”

“That's what I would do if I was her. I'd sneak up on him at work and handle things.”

“I bet some of the demons will tell her anything she needs to know. She probably already knows where Cirrus works and his hours," Gloria said.

“Wish I knew what he said to Lu when he saw her.”

“When you find out, you tell me. This is like a soap opera. The TV doesn't get any of those here.”

“Are you an addict?” Abe asked.

“I am. It's hard that I can't see any of my shows anymore."

“I guess I'll get back to work. Lu will get there eventually.”

“Yeah, the show's over, and it hasn't been much of a show yet. Maybe some of the demons will tell me something, and we can compare notes at lunch.”

---