Categories > Original > Drama > Building a Family (Meet the Robinsons)
Author's Note: Meet the Robinsons, and all characters are copyright Disney, and created by William Joyce. I am making no money from this work of fiction, and present it freely for other's enjoyment. Please enjoy. For more background on this story, please read my Author Page. There are many flashbacks in this part of the story, so each section will be dated to hopefully prevent confusion. This chapter is in 2018 and character ages (in the “present day” parts of the story) are: Lewis(23), Franny(21), Bud(59), Lucille(53), Billie (25), Joe(36).
I have done a bit of research into what you are about to experience here, however, I have not been to any of these areas personally, and any discrepancies are completely due to my failure at learning more of these towns and countries. I am not multi-lingual, so I apologize for lack of translations to the proper language. Anything surrounded by :: is in the Slovak Language. Anything surrounded by || is in the Southwestern Mandarin Dialect, Chinese Language.
“Building a Family”
Chapter 6 – Billie Robinson
September 21, 1997, Skalica, Slovakia
“:Bela! It's time for dinner!:,” Klaudia Kovarik called out. She was laying out the dishes as her husband entered the room, kissing her briefly on the cheek, and finding his own place to sit. Klaudia had finished placing out the last of the dishes as her only daughter, Bela, entered the room, scrambling over to a chair.
Bela settled down and they all bowed their heads while her father, Bronislav, calmly recited the Lord's Prayer. They all completed the prayer together, and raised their heads. Klaudia dished out a plate of food for Bela, and set it in front of her. Bela smiled, and awkwardly grabbed her fork to begin dinner.
“:How was work today?:”, Klaudia asked.
“:Same as usual. No problems today. Everyone is still gossiping about that Princess. She died over 3 weeks ago and they are still talking about it.:”, Bronislav finished with a sigh. “:I'd rather talk about my favorite princess,:” he said as he turned and grinned at his daughter, who smiled back shyly.
“:I think you would be proud of your daughter on this day. Her teacher this morning was very proud of her studies.:”
Bela nodded excitedly, almost dropping her fork, then turned to her father, and with a serious expression asked, “:Daddy, why do you have to work on Sundays when my teacher says it is a day of rest?:” She then blushed and lowered her head, and her father chuckled.
“:It is fine to ask that my princess. The train yards where I work have to stay running every day, so many times I have to work on days that others do not.:”
She nodded and took another mouthful of dinner.
“:Would you like to come with me sometime, maybe in the afternoon, princess? So I can show you what daddy does for a living?:”
“:I'd love that,:” she said as she smiled.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 30, 2018, Todayland, USA
Lewis was pacing back and forth in his workshop, holding several rumpled sheets of paper in his hand. Every once in a while he would glance down at one of them, then flip through the rest. After reading for a few moments, he would close his eyes and shudder, then grip them tightly and start pacing again.
“Cornelius? Honey?” the voice called from the doorway just down the stairs. Lewis glanced up and walked over to the stairway.
“I'm here.”
Franny walked up the stairs, looking at him with a small bit of worry in her eyes. “What's wrong? You've been home for hours, but you just disappeared into here.”
Lewis sighed, and held out his arms to his wife, not even noticing that he was still carrying the crumpled papers. She climbed up the stairs and sunk into his hug, both of them taking comfort from the years they had known each other, and relaxing into the embrace.
“I'm sorry honey. I've just got a bit of disturbing news today, that's all. Perhaps you can help me?”
She nodded and headed with him over to his desk where he smoothed out some paperwork. “I've received some disturbing news, and I don't know exactly how to go about handling it.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 14, 2001, Skalica, Slovakia
It had been several days since the reeling attacks against the United States had hit all the news networks in the area. Even Bela and her friends had been talking about how it might affect them. Even with all the talk, Bela had something far more important on her mind, and her face lit up happily when her father showed up early, not long after she had finished school.
“:Come my little princess. Lets go.:” her father said as he opened the door to their little family car. She happily leaped into the passenger seat, and he shut the door.
They drove across town to the train depot near the Czech Republic Border and he led his daughter through past the civilian entrances into the workshops of the engineers. Train tracks sprawled everywhere through the crowded complex, and half-assembled engines were scattered left and right with piles of spare parts and tools next to them.
Bela was in heaven.
She happily skipped across the tracks while coworkers of her father looked up from what they were doing and shouted greetings. Several walked towards them, smiling at the little girl, or reaching to clasp hands with her father.
Bronislav slowed down to talk with his friends as Bela beelined straight for the engine she knew her father was working on right now. With it still open and partially finished, it still looked like a beautiful work of art to her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 2, 2018, Todayland, USA
Lewis was pacing once again, this time in front of a VidCall Window. He stopped and addressed the executive patiently waiting for him.
“You're sure the purchases were legitimate?”
“Yes Mr. Robinson. The board voted in favor of these acquisitions. We've gone over the paperwork with a fine-toothed comb, and the production facilities mentioned are part of the deal for the refineries.”
Lewis sighed at the stacks of paperwork on his desk and ran his hand through his hair. “I don't like the sound of how vaguely they were described. I think I have to inspect these personally. Just to make sure, hire an inspection and QA team for the rest of the properties mentioned in paragraphs one and two. I'll handle the unexpected 'factories'.”
“Yes Sir.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 18, 2008, Skalica, Slovakia
Bela walked with her parents back from the movie they had just watched that night. It was late and the streets were mostly deserted. As they passed a dark alleyway, she felt a hand grab her arm roughly, and she was forcibly dragged towards the alley. Her mother screamed.
“:Leave my daughter alone!:” she heard her father cry out, as both her parents rushed towards the alley. There was a cloth over her face, and she was feeling very dizzy, the dark sky and brick walls swimming in front of her eyes. The last thing she thought she heard before passing out were two very loud bangs. They couldn't have been gunshots, right?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 4, 2018, Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean
“Yes honey, I’ll be back by next week. No dear. Yes dear, I remembered to bring my extra suitcase. Yes honey. No. OK, dear. Yes, everything will be fine. I’m sorry I forgot to water the twins. I’ll be fine, I swear. I love you too.” Lewis rolled his eyes as he closed his cell phone and sighed.
He looked out of his personal jet over the ocean, scattered with a few clouds below. Grabbing his bottle of water, and sighing again, even more deeply, he picked up the stack of paperwork on the mini table in front of him, and started to read through it again. He hadn’t liked what he had read the first time he looked over it, and the descriptions still rung a discordant note in his mind.
For many years, production facilities and factories in much of the Far East, and in some third world countries had “employed” many people that might not have chosen to work there. New inspection procedures and tighter government control in a majority of cases had cut the number most of these “sweat shops” but they still existed.
Lewis had a great fear that his recent deal had included more than one of these. The products were advertised as hand painted and handmade, yet the final sale prices on them were relatively low. It smelled very fishy, but he didn’t want to make any decisions until all the facilities had been inspected. The prior owners had probably taken the profit and run with it, legitimate or not.
He thought about preparing for the worst. Opening his cell phone again, he started to make some more phone calls.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 28, 2018, Somewhere in Liucheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Bela bent over the tiny parts again, dabbing with the paintbrush. The parts would be assembled into a toy that she didn’t recognize. She had never seen the final assembly. Sweat dripped down her face in the hot room, and her arms cramped as she tried to get the little pieces painted like the masters wanted.
“|Hurry up!|” a voice behind her barked. “|You are behind schedule!|”.
She had jumped a little bit, but didn’t disturb her tiny work area. Bela hunkered down a little more, hoping she wouldn’t be struck again today, and painted faster, moving the dry pieces into a basket that was taken away by fellow workers into other areas of the factory.
No blow came this time, and she heard the footsteps move away. She let her breath out, and wiped some of the sweat and grime away. Bela shifted a little, stretching her back muscles, and hunkered down again, trying to finish her quota for the day. She didn’t have much room to move, as the workers were packed in like sardines. Each worker had his or her own place to work. Other workers would bring supplies and parts, or take finished parts away, while supervisors would constantly roam the cramped isles, ensuring that everyone worked to maximum capacity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 5, 2018, Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Lewis entered the office of the Ministry of Public Security for Liuzhou, and was led towards one of the conference rooms. He confidently held his presentation devices, and a translation device of his own make, hoping that his data would convince them to help him with his plan.
As long as he could get the cooperation of the local public security station, he shouldn’t have any worries.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 5, 2018, Somewhere in Liucheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Bela lay in her tiny cubicle, the sniffling and other sounds from those around her ignored for the most part. She had learned over the years to live with many uncomfortable surroundings. She was once again thinking back as far as she could, but didn’t seem to be able to remember a time that she was hungry, tired, thirsty, or not in pain.
After she was taken from her parents, she spent long periods of time being moved around in the dark. For a while, it was with a dirty cloth sack over her head, with interludes in one dark room or another. She was fed stale sandwiches and water. Then she remembered the trains. That was the first time she met any others. They were packed into cargo areas of the trains, almost nothing visible except the moving lights through the wooden slats.
The first few trips were only with a couple people, always changing. They were older than her, and if they did speak, it was never in any language she understood. As the trips continued, more people were added, some removed. One boy was even younger than her, but wouldn’t look directly at anyone, just sitting in the corner with dirt nearly covering his tear-streaked face.
When the trips stopped, they were worked to the bone at various factories. The jobs they were forced to do were never complicated, but the hours were long, and without warning, they were on the move again. Always surrounded by guards, there was never hope to run away or get help from anyone.
She cried herself softly to sleep, as she did most nights. She thought of hope that her situation would change. She then tried to blank her mind, as that hope was almost too painful to bear.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 6, 2018, Somewhere in Liucheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Lewis glanced around at the surroundings of the old factory. A rusted fence with barbed wire surrounded the building. The grounds were in disrepair, with weeds and high grass everywhere. There was one gate at the road that led up to the place, protected by several guards. There were no weapons in sight, but that didn’t make Lewis any less cautious. If he wasn’t careful this could get ugly.
He walked up to the main gate, wearing one of his best suits, a briefcase in one hand, and holding an elongated device in his other. The device was light grey, with several lights on it, and looked similar to a metal detection wand. One of the guards opened the side door to the gate, and stepped out, looking suspiciously at Lewis.
“Greetings. My name is Cornelius Robinson, and I am the new owner of this facility. I require an inspection,” Lewis spoke softly, and as he was speaking, a perfect translation of what he was saying issued from the device he carried. The device repeated it in Pinghua also called Standardized Mandarin, the most common Chinese dialect.
The guard looked startled at first, but then nodded, and held up a hand as he backed away. He took his portable radio from his belt, and started speaking rapidly into it. At the same time Lewis flicked a switch on his device, and pointed it upward slightly. A translation of what the guard was saying into the radio was playing into an earpiece he wore.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bela looked up from her work as the commotion started at one end of the factory. The voices were too low to understand, but something had gotten all the guards and overseers excited. Each time something like this had happened before meant more time traveling either on a train or in a truck. The guards were scrambling to direct the workers around, but it was total chaos.
She was yanked to the side by one guard that roughly grabbed her arm, and started dragging her and another worker down the aisle.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lewis heard what sounded like several diesel engines starting up. The guards were looking over the paperwork he had provided from his briefcase, and were asking him questions. They were very professional about it, but Lewis knew this was just a delaying tactic. It was time.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and hit a speed dial. Then he spoke one word.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The guards were scrambling to get everyone into the trucks that were waiting at the rear of the building when the Police rose from their places of concealment all around the factory. Two helicopters rose above the tree line and hovered over the factory, having a clear view of everything that was happening.
Shouts rung out, but enough of the guards and other supervisors saw what was happening to keep any shots from being fired. They had already lost.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The police had secured the entire building, and Lewis was walking through now to get a good idea of what had gone on. No one had been killed, but there were a few injuries. It would take a lot of work to trace where most of these “workers” had originally come from. He had asked the police to bring rescue and relief supplies as well, so for the next few days they would receive the basic comforts and full meals, at least.
Lewis was on his cell phone, making arrangements to have the support personnel brought in to help everyone when he noticed a face he remembered from a long time ago. He walked over and brought out his translator wand to talk with the officer that was bent over the woman.
“It looks like she was knocked out, Sir. Maybe a concussion, I don’t know, exactly.” The officer spoke through the wand. Lewis nodded, “Make sure she gets immediate medical care, and let me know about where she gets transferred to. I don’t want to lose her in all this chaos. I will have to check, but I’m pretty sure I know where her family is right now.”
He smiled to himself as he thought about Uncle Joe. Now, the challenge would be to make everything from here on out happen as naturally as possible. It wouldn’t work if anyone guessed he knew what the future was going to be.
I have done a bit of research into what you are about to experience here, however, I have not been to any of these areas personally, and any discrepancies are completely due to my failure at learning more of these towns and countries. I am not multi-lingual, so I apologize for lack of translations to the proper language. Anything surrounded by :: is in the Slovak Language. Anything surrounded by || is in the Southwestern Mandarin Dialect, Chinese Language.
“Building a Family”
Chapter 6 – Billie Robinson
September 21, 1997, Skalica, Slovakia
“:Bela! It's time for dinner!:,” Klaudia Kovarik called out. She was laying out the dishes as her husband entered the room, kissing her briefly on the cheek, and finding his own place to sit. Klaudia had finished placing out the last of the dishes as her only daughter, Bela, entered the room, scrambling over to a chair.
Bela settled down and they all bowed their heads while her father, Bronislav, calmly recited the Lord's Prayer. They all completed the prayer together, and raised their heads. Klaudia dished out a plate of food for Bela, and set it in front of her. Bela smiled, and awkwardly grabbed her fork to begin dinner.
“:How was work today?:”, Klaudia asked.
“:Same as usual. No problems today. Everyone is still gossiping about that Princess. She died over 3 weeks ago and they are still talking about it.:”, Bronislav finished with a sigh. “:I'd rather talk about my favorite princess,:” he said as he turned and grinned at his daughter, who smiled back shyly.
“:I think you would be proud of your daughter on this day. Her teacher this morning was very proud of her studies.:”
Bela nodded excitedly, almost dropping her fork, then turned to her father, and with a serious expression asked, “:Daddy, why do you have to work on Sundays when my teacher says it is a day of rest?:” She then blushed and lowered her head, and her father chuckled.
“:It is fine to ask that my princess. The train yards where I work have to stay running every day, so many times I have to work on days that others do not.:”
She nodded and took another mouthful of dinner.
“:Would you like to come with me sometime, maybe in the afternoon, princess? So I can show you what daddy does for a living?:”
“:I'd love that,:” she said as she smiled.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 30, 2018, Todayland, USA
Lewis was pacing back and forth in his workshop, holding several rumpled sheets of paper in his hand. Every once in a while he would glance down at one of them, then flip through the rest. After reading for a few moments, he would close his eyes and shudder, then grip them tightly and start pacing again.
“Cornelius? Honey?” the voice called from the doorway just down the stairs. Lewis glanced up and walked over to the stairway.
“I'm here.”
Franny walked up the stairs, looking at him with a small bit of worry in her eyes. “What's wrong? You've been home for hours, but you just disappeared into here.”
Lewis sighed, and held out his arms to his wife, not even noticing that he was still carrying the crumpled papers. She climbed up the stairs and sunk into his hug, both of them taking comfort from the years they had known each other, and relaxing into the embrace.
“I'm sorry honey. I've just got a bit of disturbing news today, that's all. Perhaps you can help me?”
She nodded and headed with him over to his desk where he smoothed out some paperwork. “I've received some disturbing news, and I don't know exactly how to go about handling it.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 14, 2001, Skalica, Slovakia
It had been several days since the reeling attacks against the United States had hit all the news networks in the area. Even Bela and her friends had been talking about how it might affect them. Even with all the talk, Bela had something far more important on her mind, and her face lit up happily when her father showed up early, not long after she had finished school.
“:Come my little princess. Lets go.:” her father said as he opened the door to their little family car. She happily leaped into the passenger seat, and he shut the door.
They drove across town to the train depot near the Czech Republic Border and he led his daughter through past the civilian entrances into the workshops of the engineers. Train tracks sprawled everywhere through the crowded complex, and half-assembled engines were scattered left and right with piles of spare parts and tools next to them.
Bela was in heaven.
She happily skipped across the tracks while coworkers of her father looked up from what they were doing and shouted greetings. Several walked towards them, smiling at the little girl, or reaching to clasp hands with her father.
Bronislav slowed down to talk with his friends as Bela beelined straight for the engine she knew her father was working on right now. With it still open and partially finished, it still looked like a beautiful work of art to her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 2, 2018, Todayland, USA
Lewis was pacing once again, this time in front of a VidCall Window. He stopped and addressed the executive patiently waiting for him.
“You're sure the purchases were legitimate?”
“Yes Mr. Robinson. The board voted in favor of these acquisitions. We've gone over the paperwork with a fine-toothed comb, and the production facilities mentioned are part of the deal for the refineries.”
Lewis sighed at the stacks of paperwork on his desk and ran his hand through his hair. “I don't like the sound of how vaguely they were described. I think I have to inspect these personally. Just to make sure, hire an inspection and QA team for the rest of the properties mentioned in paragraphs one and two. I'll handle the unexpected 'factories'.”
“Yes Sir.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 18, 2008, Skalica, Slovakia
Bela walked with her parents back from the movie they had just watched that night. It was late and the streets were mostly deserted. As they passed a dark alleyway, she felt a hand grab her arm roughly, and she was forcibly dragged towards the alley. Her mother screamed.
“:Leave my daughter alone!:” she heard her father cry out, as both her parents rushed towards the alley. There was a cloth over her face, and she was feeling very dizzy, the dark sky and brick walls swimming in front of her eyes. The last thing she thought she heard before passing out were two very loud bangs. They couldn't have been gunshots, right?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 4, 2018, Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean
“Yes honey, I’ll be back by next week. No dear. Yes dear, I remembered to bring my extra suitcase. Yes honey. No. OK, dear. Yes, everything will be fine. I’m sorry I forgot to water the twins. I’ll be fine, I swear. I love you too.” Lewis rolled his eyes as he closed his cell phone and sighed.
He looked out of his personal jet over the ocean, scattered with a few clouds below. Grabbing his bottle of water, and sighing again, even more deeply, he picked up the stack of paperwork on the mini table in front of him, and started to read through it again. He hadn’t liked what he had read the first time he looked over it, and the descriptions still rung a discordant note in his mind.
For many years, production facilities and factories in much of the Far East, and in some third world countries had “employed” many people that might not have chosen to work there. New inspection procedures and tighter government control in a majority of cases had cut the number most of these “sweat shops” but they still existed.
Lewis had a great fear that his recent deal had included more than one of these. The products were advertised as hand painted and handmade, yet the final sale prices on them were relatively low. It smelled very fishy, but he didn’t want to make any decisions until all the facilities had been inspected. The prior owners had probably taken the profit and run with it, legitimate or not.
He thought about preparing for the worst. Opening his cell phone again, he started to make some more phone calls.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 28, 2018, Somewhere in Liucheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Bela bent over the tiny parts again, dabbing with the paintbrush. The parts would be assembled into a toy that she didn’t recognize. She had never seen the final assembly. Sweat dripped down her face in the hot room, and her arms cramped as she tried to get the little pieces painted like the masters wanted.
“|Hurry up!|” a voice behind her barked. “|You are behind schedule!|”.
She had jumped a little bit, but didn’t disturb her tiny work area. Bela hunkered down a little more, hoping she wouldn’t be struck again today, and painted faster, moving the dry pieces into a basket that was taken away by fellow workers into other areas of the factory.
No blow came this time, and she heard the footsteps move away. She let her breath out, and wiped some of the sweat and grime away. Bela shifted a little, stretching her back muscles, and hunkered down again, trying to finish her quota for the day. She didn’t have much room to move, as the workers were packed in like sardines. Each worker had his or her own place to work. Other workers would bring supplies and parts, or take finished parts away, while supervisors would constantly roam the cramped isles, ensuring that everyone worked to maximum capacity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 5, 2018, Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Lewis entered the office of the Ministry of Public Security for Liuzhou, and was led towards one of the conference rooms. He confidently held his presentation devices, and a translation device of his own make, hoping that his data would convince them to help him with his plan.
As long as he could get the cooperation of the local public security station, he shouldn’t have any worries.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 5, 2018, Somewhere in Liucheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Bela lay in her tiny cubicle, the sniffling and other sounds from those around her ignored for the most part. She had learned over the years to live with many uncomfortable surroundings. She was once again thinking back as far as she could, but didn’t seem to be able to remember a time that she was hungry, tired, thirsty, or not in pain.
After she was taken from her parents, she spent long periods of time being moved around in the dark. For a while, it was with a dirty cloth sack over her head, with interludes in one dark room or another. She was fed stale sandwiches and water. Then she remembered the trains. That was the first time she met any others. They were packed into cargo areas of the trains, almost nothing visible except the moving lights through the wooden slats.
The first few trips were only with a couple people, always changing. They were older than her, and if they did speak, it was never in any language she understood. As the trips continued, more people were added, some removed. One boy was even younger than her, but wouldn’t look directly at anyone, just sitting in the corner with dirt nearly covering his tear-streaked face.
When the trips stopped, they were worked to the bone at various factories. The jobs they were forced to do were never complicated, but the hours were long, and without warning, they were on the move again. Always surrounded by guards, there was never hope to run away or get help from anyone.
She cried herself softly to sleep, as she did most nights. She thought of hope that her situation would change. She then tried to blank her mind, as that hope was almost too painful to bear.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 6, 2018, Somewhere in Liucheng County, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
Lewis glanced around at the surroundings of the old factory. A rusted fence with barbed wire surrounded the building. The grounds were in disrepair, with weeds and high grass everywhere. There was one gate at the road that led up to the place, protected by several guards. There were no weapons in sight, but that didn’t make Lewis any less cautious. If he wasn’t careful this could get ugly.
He walked up to the main gate, wearing one of his best suits, a briefcase in one hand, and holding an elongated device in his other. The device was light grey, with several lights on it, and looked similar to a metal detection wand. One of the guards opened the side door to the gate, and stepped out, looking suspiciously at Lewis.
“Greetings. My name is Cornelius Robinson, and I am the new owner of this facility. I require an inspection,” Lewis spoke softly, and as he was speaking, a perfect translation of what he was saying issued from the device he carried. The device repeated it in Pinghua also called Standardized Mandarin, the most common Chinese dialect.
The guard looked startled at first, but then nodded, and held up a hand as he backed away. He took his portable radio from his belt, and started speaking rapidly into it. At the same time Lewis flicked a switch on his device, and pointed it upward slightly. A translation of what the guard was saying into the radio was playing into an earpiece he wore.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bela looked up from her work as the commotion started at one end of the factory. The voices were too low to understand, but something had gotten all the guards and overseers excited. Each time something like this had happened before meant more time traveling either on a train or in a truck. The guards were scrambling to direct the workers around, but it was total chaos.
She was yanked to the side by one guard that roughly grabbed her arm, and started dragging her and another worker down the aisle.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lewis heard what sounded like several diesel engines starting up. The guards were looking over the paperwork he had provided from his briefcase, and were asking him questions. They were very professional about it, but Lewis knew this was just a delaying tactic. It was time.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and hit a speed dial. Then he spoke one word.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The guards were scrambling to get everyone into the trucks that were waiting at the rear of the building when the Police rose from their places of concealment all around the factory. Two helicopters rose above the tree line and hovered over the factory, having a clear view of everything that was happening.
Shouts rung out, but enough of the guards and other supervisors saw what was happening to keep any shots from being fired. They had already lost.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The police had secured the entire building, and Lewis was walking through now to get a good idea of what had gone on. No one had been killed, but there were a few injuries. It would take a lot of work to trace where most of these “workers” had originally come from. He had asked the police to bring rescue and relief supplies as well, so for the next few days they would receive the basic comforts and full meals, at least.
Lewis was on his cell phone, making arrangements to have the support personnel brought in to help everyone when he noticed a face he remembered from a long time ago. He walked over and brought out his translator wand to talk with the officer that was bent over the woman.
“It looks like she was knocked out, Sir. Maybe a concussion, I don’t know, exactly.” The officer spoke through the wand. Lewis nodded, “Make sure she gets immediate medical care, and let me know about where she gets transferred to. I don’t want to lose her in all this chaos. I will have to check, but I’m pretty sure I know where her family is right now.”
He smiled to himself as he thought about Uncle Joe. Now, the challenge would be to make everything from here on out happen as naturally as possible. It wouldn’t work if anyone guessed he knew what the future was going to be.
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