Log:Adoption Interviews, Scene 2

Adoption Interviews 2014/05/27

Suzume Kotone The Baron Anthony Quinn|Quinn

2

Meeting with the Baron
Getting in contact with the Baron is no hard task. The contact details for the Zerstoiten Research Institute are publicly available. All Anthony has to do is call the Institute. It seems the Baron has put Anthony Quinn on the direct contact list and the switchboard redirects the call to the Baron's private line.

The Baron invites Anthony for dinner the next day on being told Anthony wishes to continue the conversation they were having in the restaurant in Iceland after the children finished speaking to the Baron. He tells Anthony there is a landing strip in the village of Frieburg and cable car access to the castle.

Anthony contacts Sukeban through the Princess' Guard communicators, not being entirely sure how comfortable she is with his knowledge of her identity (which of course is a bit odd considering the two of them will essentially be co-parenting a young Wolfguard). "I have an invitation to Baron Zerstoiten's castle," he transmits to her. "I was going to go and ask him for any assistance and insights he could give regarding Mark and Patricia. Are you up for a trip?"

Suzume replies, "Yes, of course Anthony, Kotone and I will be happy to attend. . . . I'll be happy to attend, she'll be sullen and grumpy to attend, actually, but we'll be there. I assume you'll be providing the transportation again?"

Anthony transmits a bit of a chuckle at the description of Kotone. "Yes," he says. "What would be the most convenient way for me to pick you up? I know you have some concerns about your identity so I wasn't sure if you wanted to be seen climbing aboard a jet or not."

Suzume says, "We'll meet you in mid-air as before. I think that would be for the best.""

"All right," Anthony transmits. "You might want to bring a change of clothes for Sukeban as well. I don't know if we'll be invited to dinner but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. I kind of suspect that the Baron is one of those who likes to dress for dinner and entertain his guests and if probably wouldn't hurt to accept his hospitality if he offers it."

Suzume says, "Very well. I have a whole closet full of fancy clothes for her."

Anthony transmits another short chuckle. He doesn't know Sukeban all that well but he's got a fair idea how she will generally react to fancy clothes. "See you in just a bit then," he sends. He goes ahead and gets himself ready, re configuring his force field clothing into something appropriate and then takes to the air in the jet to wait for Sukeban and Suzume.

Kotone and and Suzume join Quinn on his jet shortly. Kotone looks out of sorts, holding a garment bag over her shoulder. Suzume looks as cheerful as ever.

Anthony smiles to Kotone, trying his best to put her at ease. "We should be there in about thirty minutes," he says as he sets up the autopilot. "I've already transmitted flight information to German air traffic control so they won't freak out when we show up on their radar and the landing strip at Frieburg is already expecting us." As the autopilot takes over and the jet begins to accelerate Anthony pivots about in his chair. "There are emergency exits on the top, sides, and rear," he says, pointing with two fingers on each hand to the various doors and hatches, "and in the event that the plane becomes depressurized hold your breath. A slinky will drop from the ceiling so you will have something to play with and help you relax."

Kotone snickers, "Yer a funny guy, Quinn."

Suzume giggles.

The heroes can see the Baron's castle as they approach by air. The Baron's castle is located at the summit of a mountain on the northern edge of the Black Forest. There's the original stone built castle and a number of modern annexes built around it, the annexes of gleaming steel and glass. Some of the annexes are built on extended cantilevered platforms above sheer drops. Although there would be room for a helipad the building roofs are sloped and turreted making landing a aircraft of any kind impossible. The only obvious access is the cable car lift rising from the foot of the mountain to the castle.

Anthony brings the plane around so that he can get a good view of the castle along with Kotone and Suzume. "Ok. Now I don't feel so bad about my downtown penthouse," he says as he lands the jet at the airstrip.

Landing at Frieburg is straightforward and without difficulty. A long stretch Mercedes-Benz limo is waiting to take you all to the foot of the ski lift.

Suzume pushes Kotone into the limo and gets in herself.

The cable car is already at the foot of the mountain. A man in an Zerstoiten Institute security guard's uniform is waiting there to take you to the castle.

Quinn buttons up the plane and then gets into the limo with Sukeban and Suzume. He takes time to enjoy the view as the cable car carries them up to the Baron's castle.

The cable car starts rising as soon as you are all in it. The guard seems respectful, and as the cabin nears the castle terminal he says in accented English, "You must be important. In all the time I've been here I've never heard of the Baron inviting anyone into his private quarters."

Henrick is waiting at the castle lift terminal. The same bodyguard who requested that Chen be asked to write him a letter. He nods politely. "Please switch off all recording devices." he says in excellent English.

Anthony smiles genially to the guard. "I'm not sure about important," he says. "We're just here for reasons that are probably more personal and less business related." Which is probably a little odd coming from a world renowned technologist, but whatever. Anthony also smiles to Hendrick and extends a hand to the man. "Good to see you again," he says. "I passed on your message to Chen. I wasn't aware at the time that you were her father."

Suzume smiles, "We would never dream of recording this meeting. Besides, we too have secrets that we do not wish to have spread around, so our secrets will protect each other."

Henrick smiles and shakes Anthony's hand. "You must have been persuasive. I received a letter from her a few days ago." Then he turns to Kotone and Suzume and gives them a slight bow. "I am pleased to hear that you do not intend to record the meeting." He starts to lead the heroes through the castle, acting like a tour guide as they pass paintings, busts, and armor and weapons. Stopping outside a door he nods, "The Baron is waiting for you inside. Please enter."

Suzume pinches Kotone's arm.

The taller woman sighs, "I'll be good, for Patti-chan's sake. Don't worry."

Anthony nods once to Henrick. "Thank you," he says, the enters into the room. He smiles to Zerstoiten and gives him a polite bow of the head. In the Baron's home he treats him a bit more formally than he did when they met in Iceland. "Baron," he says, "thank you for meeting with us."

Baron's Private Lounge

The Baron's private lounge is obviously in one of the modern annexes to the original castle construction as one wall of the lounge has a full width window looking down at the spectacular view of the south face of the mountain. The trees of the Black Forest lap up against the foot of the mountain and the village of Freiburg can be seen in the distance.

The room has a lived in impression. It's comfortably furnished in early 21st century style. There are biology reference books on coffee tables, a few left open and the others heavily bookmarked with slips of paper. The hardcover books suggesting the Baron is a little old fashioned in his ways.

Several Old Master paintings hang on the walls along with a number of framed pen and ink sketches. Among the sketches of landscapes and flowers is a half length portrait of Mark and Patrica. The sketches are signed by Edwin Zerstoiten.

The Baron is seated on a couch reading a book. He puts the book down as the heroes enter and stands, walking over to greet them first with a very correct Prussian bow and then extending his hand to Anthony. "I was informed you were accompanied of course, but I do not recognize your companions. Perhaps you could do the introductions, Mr Quinn?"

Anthony exchanges grips with the Baron. "My apologies," he says. "I thought you would know the reason for my request and so would realize I would be accompanied. I did not mean to presume on your hospitality." He gestures to both Kotone and Suzume and says, "May I introduce you to Yoshida Kotone and Doi Suzume? Friends of mine from Colonial Bay."

The Baron gives Kotone and Suzume a polite bow each. "Your friends are welcome but I am a little puzzled by their presence here, Mr Quinn. I understood you wished to continue the conversation we had at the restaurant in Iceland."

Anthony nods to the Baron. "Yes," he says, "regarding the well-being and happiness of two of your..." He hesitates for a moment as he looks for a good term and then ventures, "..children? Mark and Patricia."

Suzume smiles, "Kotone and myself wish to adopt Patricia. Since you are, in a sense, family of theirs, we thought that, as a courtesy, we would meet with you."

Kotone attempts to not stare at the Baron as if she wished to rip out his throat.

The Baron nods slightly. "I had wondered if you would... Colonel Steel was blinded by her preconceptions of course. But a fresh pair of eyes... and a rather more acute intelligence." He moves to a table and pours a glass of spirits from a decanter. Then he asks urgently, "Have you told them?"

The Baron gulps the spirits down while he waits for an answer.

Anthony arches an eyebrow, slightly puzzled. "Told them what?" he asks, "That we would be happy to adopt them or that we were coming to see you?"

Kotone tilts her head quizzically.

The Baron exclaims, "You *don't* know then!" He collapses into the nearest chair.

Kotone folds her arms across her chest, "Know what?"

Anthony gives a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Without more specifics it is difficult to say," he replies. "If you are referring to the fact that they may not be Wolfguard, at least as they are commonly known, I have begun to strongly suspect that. If you are referring to something else, again, it is difficult to say without knowing what you are referring to."

The Baron looks at Kotone, "Mark and Patrica aren't Wolfguard. Mr Quinn is correct in that. They are my children, my clones. And I ask that you never tell them that."

Kotone smirks, "Now that's a promise I can keep, no problems."

Anthony nods slightly to the Baron. "I first suspected that they had a much stronger genetic relationship to you than most Wolfguard what I saw the genetically engineered mouse than Mark had created," he says, "but obviously they are not simple clones of you. Even ignoring the duplication of the X chromosome to replace the Y chromosome for Patricia they must have some form of connection that allows them to believe they are a singular Wolfguard unit."

The Baron nods, "I should have more precisely stated they are improved clones. I have given them all the abilities of fourth generation Wolfguard. It was the most difficult task I have ever done. I had to build in sufficient Wolfguard traits that they would not be terminated as failures by the Royal Caste at the training camp, and yet have those traits start to fade when they were three years of age. And of course ensure that they would be removed from Wolfguard at that time."

Suzume says, "To ask the obvious question, why?""

Anthony nods. "Hence your assistance in the dismantling of Wolfguard," he says.

The Baron shakes his head. "No. You have the order of those two reversed. I was actively working to dismantle Wolfguard from the time I weakened the loyalty function in the third generation. I placed Mark and Patrica in with the fourth generation trainees so if Wolfhead discovered what I was doing, when they killed everyone here my children would have a chance to survive."

Kotone hmmphs, "Well, if yer worried about the kids, they'll be in good hands. I can defeat anyone from Wolfguard, and Quinn can also."

The Baron smiles, "Wolfguard is no more. With the Royal and Second generation ageing and the third and fourth generation gone it had no future. I encouraged Wolfhead Council members to grab as much power as they could before their Wolfguard Brigades aged beyond effectiveness. I knew that would destroy the last remnants of the organisation. That Council member would fight against Council member."

The Baron says, "I created a monster. That I did not know what I was doing is no excuse. It was my responsibility to slay the monster and I have done so."

Suzume smiles, "So what do you wish from us? Absolution for your sins?"

The Baron shakes his head. "No. You said you intended to adopt Mark and Patrica? I wish you to bring them up to be good citizens. If you do that I shall be in your debt."

Kotone nods, "We'll bring them up good, don't you worry. We're heroes, after all."

The Baron stands and bows to Kotone, "That is all I can ask." He then looks over to Anthony, "We discussed visitation. I hope you will permit me to see them once a year just for a few minutes, as I have been doing since they started at Lord Markham's school."

Anthony glances over to Kotone for a moment. "We will need to discuss it," he says, "but I believe that something can be arranged. We will simply need to discuss the specifics so we can be sure that whatever solution we come up with is in the best interests of Mark and Patricia."

The Baron nods to Anthony. Then he sighs, "My apologies. I'm afraid events have been distracting me from my duties as a host. Would you like anything to drink? I can recommend the Peach Snapps. It's brewed locally in Frieburg and is quite excellent."

Suzume nods, "Of course. While we're happy to hear of your desire to reform yourself, a long past can not be so easily forgotten. I think I can trust you, but my wife is a more suspicious person."

Kotone snorts.

Suzume continues, "Please forgive me, but I am young and rather small, so I do not handle liquor well. But if you have some tea, I would be happy to accept it."

Anthony smiles to the Baron. "Thank you," he says. "That sounds quite nice. As to one of your earlier concerns, please understand that while I have no intention of telling Mark or Patricia about their genetic relationship with you I plan to do whatever is in their best interests. If something should come about where it is necessary to reveal that fact then I will. I would also have to guess that sooner or later they will work it out for themselves and when that occurs I do not intend to lie to them about it, again because I do not think that would be in their best interest."

Kotone nods, "Yeah, lying to adopted children about their heritage isn't a good thin'. They got the right to know, eventually."

The Baron picks up an internal phone and orders tea. "Mr Quinn, ladies, if it is in the best interests of Mark and Patrica I will of course have no objection to you telling them. And by the time they work it out for themselves, if they ever do, I'd hope that while they might have some feelings for me, they will be old enough and brought up well enough to see me for what I am. A criminal. Not, I think, an evil man. But not an example to follow."

Kotone nods again, "Don't worry. I'll be sure to villify ya right and proper. But... I'll let them know, people can change too, and ya didn't die a monster."

The Baron nods. He looks over to the pen and ink sketch of Mark and Patrica. "Are they showing any signs of differentiation yet" he asks the heroes in general.

Suzume smiles, "They are. They're not one person. They're Mark and Patricia."

Anthony quirks an eyebrow slightly as Kotone mentions the Baron dying. Considering his extended lifespan and the intellectual gifts he has bestowed on Mark and Patricia, Anthony can't see it taking longer than the Baron's expected lifespan to work out the truth, so he wonders what it is that she knows. "They are," he says to the Baron. In fact that was part of the reason for the visit. Since I did not know about the fact that you had designed their Wolfguard characteristics to fade I was concerned about their differentiation. From what little I know about Wolfguard it seemed almost like a form of personality disorder for them."

The Baron shakes his head. "No. No. It would be a personality disorder if they didn't differentiate. Mark is a boy. Patrica is a girl. There's no single personality that would suit both. They will always retain the unity of deep consciousness but will also develop separately on perfectly normal gender lines. It's a concept I have trouble grasping myself I will admit but I'm confident they will be fine, Mr Quinn."

Suzume nods, "They will be unusually close siblings, but they will be their own persons. Neither each other, nor their genetic donor."

Henrick enters with the tea. He glances around, making it very clear he is doing so. "No broken furniture. The meeting is going better than expected then." He says.

Kotone snorts, "We're gettin' along like a house on fire, don't ya worry old-timer."

The Baron smiles, "Remind me again why I gave you that sense of humor?" he says to Henrick.

Anthony nods. "Their unusual nature, as we knew it then, meant that there were lots of things we could not be sure about," Anthony says, "So we came here to ask you for any information you could give us that might help us to take care of them better. Even though we now understand the reason for a lot of their differences there are still things where I am certain information that you are holding will help us to better care for them." He glances at Kotone and says, "You have to understand that when she says 'house on fire' that often involves a great deal of screaming and panic."

Henrick laughs, "Someone in this institute should have one. You picked me." Putting the tray of tea down on a coffee table he departs.

The Baron looks to Anthony, "Ask whatever you wish regarding Mark and Patrica. I will answer fully. Nothing held back. I'm sure we do not all like each other." He looks at Kotone. "But we share a common interest in the wellbeing of Mark and Patrica do we not?"

Kotone grins, "I'm interested in their wellbein', and I'm willin' to accept that you are too."

Suzume laughs softly, "Oh my, Baron, are you saying you don't like us? I'm honored."

The Baron pours tea and hands the cups out. "Actually I was implying that you, certainly some of you, do not like me. From your viewpoint a perfectly understandable feeling."

Kotone smiles brightly, "That may be the case, but we are, or will be family, so we'll have to get along. For the sake of the children."

Anthony spreads his hands slightly and smiles. "To be completely honest," he says, "I'm not even sure at the moment what I need to ask. I am looking for any information, insights, or warnings you might have to offer. I would be happy to accept any notes you might have on them. Although I am certainly not at your level I can probably pick up enough knowledge to at least gain a general understanding about any special considerations they might require."

The Baron stands and goes over to the sketch of Mark and Patrica. He takes it down off the wall and carries it over to present it to Anthony. "On the back," he says, "is a datachip with complete genome mappings of Mark and Patrica, with all my annotations, research notes, and development notes."

Suzume observes politely.

Anthony gives another bow to the Baron, this one actually a little deeper than the one he gave earlier, a bow of genuine thanks. "Thank you very much," he says. "This means a great deal to me." He gives a quick smile to that Baron. "I hope you will not mind if I give you a call now and then to ask for help with some of the more technical aspects? I'm afraid my skills tend to run more towards hardware than biology."

The internal phone rings. The Baron picks the phone up and listens for a few moments. "I've been told dinner is ready to serve," he tells the heroes after putting the phone down. "Mr Quinn, call at any time. Whatever help I can give is yours for the asking. Now, however, you have a decision to make. I can have Henrick see you back to your jet. Or you can join me for dinner."

Anthony glances over to Kotone to see what her preference is on dinner.

Suzume bows her head, "I look forward to experiencing your chef's mastery of European cuisine."

The Baron leads the way to the dining hall. "Did Chen Li ever tell you of the time when she caught my father with a water bucket trap?" He start telling the tale...