The Daughters of Men

Chapter 7

The next morning, Holly was awoken by the sound of a loud buzzing alarm that appeared to ring throughout the building. As she got up and dressed in an oversized white shirt with various sized blue polka dots and a pair of a black yoga pants, she made her way down the hall, where she saw a series of other people making their way towards the main room of the Thatcher Building. As she followed the masses, a voice behind her said, "Good morning, Ms. Howl."

"It's Richards-Howl, actually," Holly replied, turning around to see a tall, thin oriental woman walking behind her wearing a lab coat and smiling warmly. "I don't believe we've met."

"My name is Lana Nguyen," she greeted. "I'm one of the people in charge here, technically heading the research and development department. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Mister Cutler has told me so much about you."

"It's good to meet you too," Holly greeted as the two of them entered the main room and turned towards the mess hall. "Sammy said I'd be meeting you."

"Well, actually, I'm here to talk business, over breakfast, if you're interested," Nguyen mentioned. "We took a look at your equipment and I'm here to touch base with you on a few things, some upgrades and other such stuff. Sound good?"

The two of them entered the mess hall, finding themselves in a long line that circled the edge of the room. "Yeah, that sounds fine," Holly replied. "It's just breakfast, right? I don't need to do too much while I'm eating. Do we get a choice of what we eat or is it more Deb's choice?"

"You'll have options," Nguyen assured. "So, one question we have is what exactly the suit you wear is made out of and, perhaps more importantly, where does it come from?"

"I don't know the answer to the first question," Holly admitted. "But my dad knew a guy in Japan who apparently is some master of the cloth, and he's the guy that makes it. I can probably send him a letter, asking for his help."

"That might be nice. We'd like to get a suit made for you. After looking at the suit you wear compared to the assumed measurements we have on you, we're guessing this suit you wear was your dad's?"

"That'd be right."

"Yes, well, we're hoping to get one that you can wear and feel comfortable in. Not only that, but the helmet you wore we were not able to retrieve?"

"It's in the Grand Rapids Police Department," Holly replied. "Samuel didn't grab it when he grabbed the rest of my stuff."

"Yes, as he explained it, the helmet was significantly damaged during your fight with Robert Barrett. We had believed that he had given it to you, but that's no matter. Would you prefer us to create a new helmet or would you prefer to go without."

"No, no," Holly replied, "I'm going to need the helmet. It worked as a gas mask, voice changer, and it was bulletproof. Too much utility to not replace it something the same or better."

"Understood," Nguyen replied as the two of them shuffled over to the beginning of the counters. Holly was given a tray and a bottle of water, and sent down the line. Managing to snag some scrambled eggs, a few pieces of charred bacon, and a generous helping of oatmeal, Holly found herself at the end of the counter, where there was a coffee pot and a tea kettle.

"Do you partake in either tea or coffee?" Nguyen asked, grabbing a mug from the stack. She poured herself some hot tea and added a few things of sugar to it.

"Not really," Holly confessed. "Tea's always been a bit strong for me."

"And coffee? As I understand it, you worked for a coffee house."

"Yeah, I did, but coffee isn't really my gig either. Do you know what's good? Hot chocolate. I can drink a gallon of that stuff, dude, like it's amazing. Or, like, an Arnold Palmer. Delicious."