A/N: This part is rather short for the amount of time it took to finish, sorry. Anyways, we now approach the point that has been the source of my frequent hemming and hawing, lately. I hope you enjoy.
From Part 4...
Lois opened her mouth to respond, then shut it. She'd been in the interviewing business long enough to know when someone was trying to deflect. She decided to let him have this round, but made a mental note to dig into this, later. “You still haven't answered my question, Mr. 'Smith',” she said, locking her gaze with his.
“What question?” he asked with an air of innocence.
She leaned forward so that they were almost nose-to-nose. “How do I get coffee?!”
Part 5
The man sighed. “Follow me,” he said, rising from his seat.
Lois stood and followed him to the dispenser in question.
“Now, pay close attention,” he said, pronouncing his words carefully as if speaking to a slow-witted child. He waved his hands towards the machine. “This is a scanning dispenser. If you look into this *magic circle* here”—he indicated a black dot on the front of the machine—“a cup coffee will appear in this compartment here.” He gestured a space next to the dot. “It's simple.”
Lois rolled her eyes, then moved in front of him to stare into the dot. “Nothing's happening,” she complained after several seconds went by.
“You have to be in the system,” he told her. “The coffee is only for staff, patients, and registered visitors.”
Lois' mouth fell open. “You could have told me that in the first place!” she snapped, throwing her hands in the air.
“I figured you were one of those last two,” he said, dryly.
She huffed. “Well, you're registered, aren't you?” she noted. “You get me a cup, then.”
Mr. “Smith” raised an eyebrow at her. “You don't even know how I take my coffee,” he said.
“What's that got to do with anything?” Lois demanded.
“It's a scanning dispenser,” he said again. At her murderous expression, he added, “Right. You supposedly don't know what that is. It is a machine that figures out what you like by scanning your retina.”
“Your retina?” Lois echoed.
“Please say that you know what a retina is,” the man said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Lois frowned. “I know what a retina is,” she snipped.
He sighed in relief. “Thank Rao.”
“Anyway,” Lois continued, “I'll pretty much take *anything* with caffeine at this point, so you might as well go ahead. Please,” she added, generously.
The man rolled his eyes and muttered something she couldn't understand. Nevertheless, he lowered his glasses and looked into the dot. Within seconds, a cup of coffee appeared in the compartment. Lois seized it triumphantly.
“Coffee!” she exclaimed. She took a healthy swig, then crumpled her face in disgust as sugary milk rolled over her tongue. Lois lifted the lid off her cup and examined it, finding that her coffee actually contained very little coffee. “You're worse than Clark,” she muttered.
“Clark?” he echoed.
Lois nodded, taking one more tiny sip of the overly-sweet concoction before setting it down, permanently. “Clark Kent,” she informed him. “My fiance. Or husband, depending on who you ask.”
“Ah. Of course.” He gave her a patronizing little smile. Any further comment, however, was cut off by the crackle and whine of a PA system coming to life.
“Paging Dr. Steel to the fourth floor,” someone announced. “Dr. Steel to the fourth floor.”
Mr. Smith frowned. “That's odd,” he said.
“What's so odd?” Lois asked.
“I've never heard of any Dr. Steel,” he replied, the frown deepening. “By this point, I thought I had met everyone who worked here.”
“You weren't sure if they had a psyche ward,” Lois pointed out.
“That's different,” said the man. “This person is going to the fourth floor. I should be familiar with everyone and anyone who has business there, since the only patient on that entire floor is my--” he broke off, a look of horror crossing his face.
“Mr. Smith?” Lois asked when he fell silent.
“--my daughter,” he whispered.
The sonic boom of his departure rattled the doors of the cafeteria. Lois knew there was no point in trying to catch up to him. Fortunately, though, she knew his destination. She took off for the elevators at a dead run, just as the PA squealed to life again.
“Everyone, please remain where you are at this time,” the speaker announced. “The hospital is entering lock-down.”
To Be Continued...
