Disclaimer: Jonny Quest belongs to Hanna Barbera and Turner
Productions. I am not affliated with the mentioned companies in any way. The JQ characters here are used without permission of the owners. No cash is made from this.
A Question of Identity: Chapter 3
by Ina-chan
�The security program you created seems to be holding Dr. Quest,� Hadji Singh reported from a terminal, �I will run a few more simulations then it will be ready to replace the temporary program you installed yesterday.�
Dr. Harrison smiled with relief, �And not a moment too soon. Our mysterious friend tried another attempt to crack the system earlier this morning. And as usual, he was long gone before we could put a trace on him.�
�Hopefully our new toy will prevent our friend from even getting past his start-up menu,� Dr. Quest quipped
�I�m sure it will work up to standards Benton. When it came to your creations, you never really disappointed me before,� Dr. Harrison replied quietly
An ackward silence fell into the room. Hadji looked up and was confounded by the grim looks on both men�s faces, as if they both shared an unsavory memory. He shifted uncomfortably as he tried to concentrate on his task.
�Well then, I�ve been up since the crack of dawn. I could use a fresh cup of brew right now,� Dr. Harrison started filling the silence, �Would you gentlemen care to join me for a short break before we hit the microscopes?�
�In a minute Jon,� Dr. Quest replied, �Why don�t you go on ahead? I�ll follow shortly.�
When Dr. Harrison left the room, Dr. Quest made a tired sigh and leaned on the desk. Hadji turned back at him with concern, �Are you feeling all right Dr. Quest?�
�I�m fine Hadji. It�s just one of those days when you wish you could turn back the hands of time to when you still have the energy to do these kinds of things. It seems like we�re nowhere to answering all the problems we came here to solve.�
�It is not the destination that matters, it is how the journey is made.� *
Dr. Quest chuckled.
�Do you have any inkling on who our mysterious guest could be?�
�Surd would definitely be very interested in this project . And he has the ability and technology to do so.�
�Gaining the knowledge of how to replicate nerve cells would indeed attract Surd like a moth to a lamp.�
Dr. Quest sat down and stretched his legs, �It does sound incredible doesn�t it? Of course, the flaw in Dr. Harrison�s project is preventing any practical use of his experiments. Aside from having a faster mitotic ability, stimulated human cells also developed a faster cellular respiration metabolic rate. Meaning tissues reach their full potential growth faster, and deteriorate just as fast.�
�Ahhh, the Exponential Problem Syndrome.�
Dr. Quest gave Hadji a questioning glance.
Hadji smiled, �Just a name Jonny and I made up when Race was trying to introduce us to the wonderful world of Calculus.�
Dr. Quest nodded, �Well the name does suit it, doesn�t it?�
Hadji returned to a more serious note, �So you do not believe Surd is our man?�
�We can�t rule him out. But evidence seem to implicate that it is not likely to be him. Even if Surd got his hands on this technology, the project is still in its infantile stages and there is no way he could successfully use it within practical reasons. While I was reviewing our guest�s activities, it would seem that he already had numerous opportunities to actually obtain his goal. If getting all the information on Dr. Harrison� project was indeed what he was after.�
�You do not think that he is after Dr. Harrison�s study?�
�Let�s just say, for a brilliant hacker, he�s either blind or he�s not really very smart...�
�Or he is looking for something else,� Hadji added, �Is that possible Dr. Quest?�
�It is.�
�Do you think that Dr. Harrison could have another project that we do not know of?�
Dr. Quest remained silent for a while. Then made another tired sigh, �What I think is that I�m ready to accept Dr. Harrison�s invitation for some coffee. You ready?�
�I think I will catch up after I finish this last set of simulations.�
Dr. Quest rose to leave when a thought suddenly passed his mind, �Hadji, have you seen Jessie anywhere? She was so gung-ho about this whole thing, I expected to half drag her out of the lab everytime we took a break.�
Hadji fidgeted uncomfortably, �Perhaps it is because she did not expect the pleasure of Amanda�s company.�
Dr. Quest gave him a look that made it clear that he wasn�t convinced, �Perhaps...�
Hadji cringed inwardly as he watched Dr. Quest leave the room. He never enjoyed lying to anyone. Well, technically he was not lying. He just was not saying the whole truth. That is that even though Jessie�s behaviour toward the blonde girl was more or less civil, she had openly admitted her distrust to Hadji. Or that Jessie asked him to make a background check on Amanda. Or that he was actually doing more than just monitoring simulations on Questworld...
***
�Yes! I AM SERIOUS!� Jessie hissed in response to Hadji�s incredulous expression, �I want you to find everything you can find about Amanda Harrison from fourteen to seven years ago. Everything you can find, family, allergies, you name it, I don�t care!�
�Do you not think that you are holding this grudge match against Amanda a bit too far?� Hadji inquired
Jessie threw up her hands in disgust and gave him a �look�, �I am NOT harboring a grudge! I just have this bad feeling... Just call it a hunch.�
�You do understand that it is not likely I will be able to pull out anything from Amanda on the account that she is a legal minor.�
�I know Hadj,� Jessie sighed. She then reached into her pocket and handed him a neatly folded handkerchief, �If worse comes to worst, run some test on these.�
Hadji opened the piece of cloth and found a few short strands of gold. It was now his turn to give her a �look.�
�Come on Hadj, humour me.� Jessie pleaded, �If I�m wrong then fine. I�m wrong and that will be the end of it. Just give me some credit based on how I felt about Jade. Even Jonny confirmed my suspicions, remember?�
Hadji remained unconvinced.
Jessie suddenly had an wicked glint on her eyes, �Of course we can�t leave out Anaya...�
With a sinking feeling, Hadji realized where this argument is heading to. And that he was not going to win as well.
Jessie dove in for the kill and aimed right at the jugular, �...AND Elise.�
ACK!
Jessie gave him a satisfied smirk. Then turned into a more serious tone, � I don�t like the idea of letting her out of my sight. I would do the dirty job myself if you find baby-sitting the Bobbsey Twins** more appealing.�
By complete coincidence, it seemed that Amanda and Jonny had a lot more in common than physical appearance. Just to irritate Jessie, the two started a game of imitating each other�s actions and mannerisms. It was quite hilarious at first, but after the novelty wore off, it became just down right annoying. Of course Hadji was sure that neither Jonny nor Amanda realized it, even after they stopped playing their silly game, they did not stop becoming �unsychronized.� Sometimes they would shift in time to identical positions even to the detail of their mischievous grins with eerie accuracy.
�Well she does have her qualities...�Hadji said lamely in Amanda�s defense as he glanced through the doorway of the room where she and Jonny were fiddling together on a laptop. Where he also met Jonny�s suspicious gaze.
As if on cue, Amanda pinched Jonny�s arm for attention, �You know, I�m glad you were a sport about that water gun incident. The last time I did that was on a co-op student six months ago. He made this sissy scream and wet his pants...�
Hadji winced as he turned back to Jessie�s amused expression, �She does have a certain amount of charm.�
Jessie snorted, �Underneath the maturity of a seven-year-old.�
Hadji sighed in defeat. Knowing Jessie, she would not stop until she is proven right--
***
�--or wrong,� Hadji added to himself as he waited the results of his search.
He could not believe what he found...
(to be continued)
* To whoever made that quote. Sorry I used it without your permission.
** Trade Mark, does not belong to me either.
Author�s notes:
Whew! That was tough! Trying to sound like Dr. Quest and at the same time trying not to sound too much like my human physiology textbook. (See? Going to University does have uses in real life.) Though I made up the Exponential Problem Syndrome. If there is such a concept, well it�s pure coincidence.