Mike & Karen Ch. 32

***

A local downtown pub, 1987...

Mike and Karen were sitting at a larger round table, watching the stage and waiting to see what those three got up to next. Janet was sitting on a stool in front of the mic, smirking, while Lisa and Mona were standing on either side of her, grooving to the cheesy music. Given the expression on the law student's face, no good could come of this.

She winked at them and pulled the mic up to her mouth.

"You've got me tied up inside," she began, with the other two chorusing.

"Your prisoner, (Prisoner!)

Don't know where I can hide

Your prisoner (Prisoner!)

I'm captured by your love,

Never tried to run away!

Caught from behind,

Never knew before how love should feel,

Caught from behind, hey!"

"Oh my dear Lord in Heaven," Karen sighed, shaking her head while Mike pinched her eyes. Everyone else in the pub was roaring with laughter. "I might have known."

"How have you not trained this out of them yet?" Mike asked, looking at his tablemate. "Technically, this is your fault."

"How is this my fault?" Karen protested. "Even if training them is my job somehow, it takes time to brainwash the improprieties out of spirited young women, DeBourne."

"Clearly, since you're as badly behaved as any of them," he pointed out.

"Am I up there singing a cheesy euphemism about anal sex?" she growled, not impressed with his implication. The crowd was still laughing while Janet sang a second verse.

"I'll do whatever you say

I'm your prisoner (Prisoner!)

Every night, every day

I'm your prisoner (Prisoner!)

I'm captured by your love

I'll never try to run away

Caught from behind

Never knew before how love should feel

Caught from behind, hey!"

"It reminds me of that night I found you with a guy and a girl in the Robarts study hall after hours," he mused casually. "You weren't singing, true, it was more like yodeling."

Karen was still blushing and almost scowling at the table when the song finally ended, the entire audience cheering and applauding loudly. The three girls all bowed before Janet turned and gave her butt a little wiggle, leading to more laughs and lots of whistles and catcalls. By the time they'd returned to the table, the bronze-haired girl had mostly recovered, although she was still shooting Mike dirty looks occasionally.

"Sooooo, how'd we do?" Janet asked slyly, walking her fingers up Mike's bicep as she settled in next to him. "Kinda dedicated to you, after all."

"Me too, big man," Mona added, sitting on his other side.

"Uh, I guess not me, but only because it's usually Kar inside my butt, you understand," Lisa said rather uselessly. She got a withering stare from Karen. "What?"

"So're you two having any time left to study for exams, since you're always being pulled off to do stuff and prep for the trip to Lucerne?" Mona queried. "They make it seem like it takes as much prep time as it does to go into space."

"Maybe for the rest of them, but I find I am still having more than adequate amounts of time to study," Karen replied, happy to be off the topic of her and anal sex. "I won't speak for DeBourne, but I somehow doubt he is falling behind either."

"What about you three?" Mike asked now, also happy to not be talking about their sexual proclivities. "Forget the institution, you guys have to live up to Mr. Blackwell's expectations now."

"Don't remind me," Janet muttered, shaking her head and slumping in her seat. "I mean, I've spent most of the money he gave me on clothes and shiny things already."

"Ooh, you're really stuck now, girl," Mona teased. "He owns you."

"Nobody owns me," Janet said proudly, sitting up straight for a moment to make her point before slouching down in her chair again. "I don't care what kinda bazillionaire he is. I do what I want, dammit."

"Yes, you're such a rebel," Lisa laughed. "Goin' for law degrees and all."

"Hey, I get high with you, that's against the law," Janet pointed out. "Barely old enough to drink, and I'm not going to kill myself for degrees, no matter what anyone tells me. I am chill, laid back, and my own girl, thank you."

"You get on your faculty's nerves almost as much as DeBourne does on ours," Karen agreed, looking at Janet with a smirk and holding her gaze. "Youthful rebellion, is that it?"

"I'm a teenage lobotomy," Janet said irreverently, strumming an air guitar in front of her.

"I am sorry to hear that, young lady, since I have invested my hopes in you," said an authoritative voice in a clipped and very precise tone.

Janet yelped at the sound and leapt out of her seat, whirling around, her eyes wide with shock. Karen and Mike both laughed, since they had seen Karen's father and mother, Jonathon Blackwell and Miranda Gordon, approaching. He'd been standing behind Janet for more than a few seconds during her little tirade. Lisa and Mona both squeaked, not having noticed he was there either.

"Jeeee-zus!" Janet gasped, clutching at her chest as she looked at the older man, her eyes still wide. "What the Hell, sir?"

"Not often I find myself greeted in so cavalier a manner, admittedly," Jonathon mused while Miranda stood beside him, wearing a small smirk. "What have you been spending the money I gave you on? Something about a lobotomy?"

"I.. no, that... that is..." Janet stammered, going pale. She felt like she might piss herself.

"At ease, Janet," Miranda said finally, stepping forward and putting an assuring hand on the spooked younger woman's shoulder. "Sit down and have some fun. We actually came to have a word with our daughter."

"Coming," Karen said, standing up and moving around the table to join her parents.

As the trio walked off, Janet scowled at Mike. "Y'couldn't've warned me he was there, you giant jerk?"

"Not telling you was funnier," Mike said simply with a shrug. "Your rebellious girl routine ran down your leg pretty damn quickly."

"Just about shat myself," Janet grumbled, trying to relax as she settled into her chair. Her friends both giggled and hugged her, giving her kisses on the cheek. "See if I ever fuck you again."

"You will," he said with certainty in his voice.

"I know," she mumbled, sounding defeated. "But it'll only be grudgingly."

"Duly noted," Mike laughed, picking up his oversized glass and draining his beer.

Outside...

"It must be important, if whatever you have come to discuss dragged you downtown on a Monday evening," Karen mused as she stepped outside with her parents. The fresh air was nice, because even if they were sitting in the non-smoking section of the pub, the air could still get rank. "What humble service can a daughter render for her esteemed parents?"

Jonathon explained as they walked. "Your mother and I have some function to go to in a few days. We were both dreading the tedium, and I despaired of even making any useful business contacts. But it turns out that there will, in fact, be a scientist present, and he seems to think that something he called the Dirac Equation has some practical applications. It was my hope that maybe you could give me some ideas of what to ask him and see if his assertion holds any advantage for Blackwell."

Karen paused and looked at the ground, frowning for some moments before she spoke. "Dirac's equation is important, since it leverages both quantum and Einstein's Relativity theories, positing the existence of antimatter. I've flirted with some of its formulas, but..."

"But..." her father prompted.

She looked up at him now and she seemed almost pained. "I could possibly tell you what you need to know, father, perhaps a little limpingly, but this is the realm of actual Theoretical Physics, and the person you should be asking is back behind us through that pub door."

Her parents seemed somewhat skeptical. Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"If this was strictly formulaic math and physics, I would be your girl, no question," Karen admitted. "But what you want is DeBourne's intuition on a field of absolute scientific lunacy. It's called 'strange physics' for a reason."

She smiled up at her parents. "Let me go get him..."

They watched as she walked back into the pub they'd found her in. The parents shared a look, silently agreeing that they almost never saw their daughter behave or talk that way. Jonathon could count on the fingers of one hand the times he'd ever heard Ekaterina seem so deferential about an issue, especially to an age peer. It warranted close attention, certainly.

Back in the pub...

"DeBourne," Karen said as she walked up to the table, getting everyone's attention. "My parents would like some pointers on the practical applications of the Dirac Equation, and that is most certainly your bailiwick before it is mine. Would you be so kind as to help my beloved father get richer?"

Mike excused himself from the table and started to head out before turning and looking back at Karen. "What're you waiting for, Gordon? An engraved invitation? C'mon already."

Somewhat perplexed, Karen followed him back out. She'd just naturally assumed he would handle things quickly, so why did he want her outside? He couldn't possibly be intimidated by her parents. She was still somewhat behind when he reached them, towering over the normally formidable pair. He nodded politely and genially, especially to Karen's mother.

"It's good to see you both. Thank you again for dinner and the fine night at your Manor the other week, by the way. Your daughter has intimated to me that you have questions about Dirac's Equation?" he queried.

"Walk with us, please," Jonathan asked, taking his daughter's arm and heading down the street. Miranda took Mike's arm, the two men on the outside with the women next to each other. "As my kitten has no doubt intimated to you, I am looking to see if any business opportunity could possibly arise from speaking with a scientist hinting at the practical applications of Dirac's Equation during this function we must attend."

Mike mulled the statement over for a moment. "I not only consider myself a scientist, sir, or at least a future scientist, but as a meliorist, I consider myself a science advocate."

Karen listened to what her fellow student was saying, always fascinated that his views often mirrored her own on matters. There were times she considered it to be, well... inconvenient.

"Having said that, sir, lots of scientists are often looking to monetize and make a quick buck by claiming they have made some leap in avant-garde physics that promises prosperity to any investor who will make a donation," the titan student added.

"Your thoughts on the matter mirror my own," Mr. Blackwell agreed, squeezing his daughter's hand as he held it on his arm. "Hucksters abound. Do you think that there is money to be made in research along this line if he is on the level?"

"No doubt some, sir, although said profits could be long off versus any capital invested," Mike reasoned. "Honestly, there are questions you should be asking that will, more or less, corner him and he'll be compelled to answer honestly. If he's evasive, then you know it's a sham."

"And you can furnish us with those questions, I assume," Miranda posited, smiling up at their companion.

"I'd be happy to," Mike said, nodding. "Wish I knew a little more about what he was claiming already. Have you heard anything he's said?"

"Just the very basics," Karen's father related. "Two polar states, positive and negative and how all particles can exist in either."

"Another part of Dirac's Equation is that positive and negative can both have a half-spin, up or down," Mike explained, already thinking. Karen sighed inwardly. She knew this stuff, but she specialized elsewhere, and soon DeBourne would be talking over even her understanding. Theoretical was his field, Mathematical was hers. The day the two disciplines met would be earth-shaking.

"And if his contention is that all particles have these two states and then the half-spin states," Mike continued. "Then just about any hyperplane surface or wave can be-"

The huge man stopped walking, looking at the ground in front of him. The other three paused, glancing at him curiously. Finally, he looked past Miranda to the woman's daughter. "Gordon, on a photon, what's the variation from a diagonal polarizer source to the horizontal-vertical beamsplitter's sifted key?"

Karen thought for half a second. "The sifted key versus the bit sequence is one null null one zero zero null one zero zero null one null zero, allowing intended detection vector."

"If you say so," Mike agreed readily. "Now how would a positive then negative half-spin affect that sifted key measurement?"

Karen was even faster than DeBourne at calculations, and mere seconds later, her eyes widened. Because he was talking cryptography and cryptology, the Dirac Constant was sliding into positions she was fairly certain nobody had considered just yet.

"Parity is symmetry in quarks, but it can be infinite examples of parity and symmetry, with the half-spins on anything," she breathed, before looking at her father. "DeBourne is right, we know exactly what you need to ask him now. Lock him down, buy him out, something. Not only will the research that you fund lead down exciting roads, but the cryptology aspect will be worth a frightening amount. If this scientist is genuine, father, then make that your mission at this function you must attend."

"Happy to have helped in some small way," Mike said cheerfully, gently releasing Miranda's arm and nodding his head. "I'll leave you three to it, you have a lot to talk about."

"Thank you, young man," Jonathon said readily with a return nod. "And please let the establishment know that not only am I covering the tab for you and your friends tonight, but also you will have an open tab with no upper limit, and I will see to covering it monthly."

"Thank you, sir," Mike replied, touching two fingers to his temple. He'd picked it up from watching Captain Harlock. "That'll please the girls. Have a good night, folks."

He turned and strode off, heading back to give Mona, Janet, and Lisa the good news.

"A remarkable young chap, that one," Jonathon mused, watching Mike leave before resuming his walk. Miranda now took his other arm so that he was walking between his wife and daughter down the street in the cool night air. "Do you still need dinner, kitten?"

"Most people would say they are too excited to eat, but I always find that I come over rather peckish at moments of epiphany and revelation," Karen replied, smiling happily. She was going to be able to help her parents with this issue after all, now that DeBourne had given them context. Damn that maddening boy! She owed him another golden Aztec death mask now, certainly.

"Infinitely understandable," Jonathon agreed. "Where shall I take you?"

Karen smirked. "In honour of the long-haired Gargantua who made this possible, maybe the punny choice of Barberian's?" she suggested.

Miranda laughed. She was fairly certain that her husband didn't quite understand exactly how much of his future fortune was owed to that remarkable young man from the far north. Jonathon had no inkling of DeBourne's involvement in the business deals with Beijing (or his daughter's), and if this venture played out the way she suspected it would...

She had a warm feeling about her daughter's future, certainly.

***

Blackwell Manor, later that afternoon, the present...

"There you goofballs are," Alex said cheerfully as he walked up to his friends, who were occupying themselves in the arcade, where Tatyana had deposited them. Dave and Ted were trying to tear each other's heads off in a friendly game of Street Fighter II while Anthony was getting his ass handed to him in the LaserDisc game Cliff Hanger. "Aunt Jen said you've signed your lives away?"

"You would've too, DeBourne, if you got our offer," Ted sniffed, ignoring the interloper and hammering on Dave with Zangieff. If Dave's character Dhalsim would just fucking hold still. "And she invited us to dinner."

"Well that's on her, and now it's her job to change your diapers," Alex laughed. "I think Theresa's making roast lamb in a yogurt crust tonight. In any event, I told my other aunts you're here, so come and say hello. It's not like those machines ate your quarters or anything."

The three young men didn't grumble at all, since they'd only met one of the aunts before, that being Janet at the funeral of Alex's grandfather, Jonathon Blackwell. They followed him out of the arcade and down the hall to the ballroom from which lovely strains of classical music could be heard. Several people were gathered near the dais, where Mike, Karen, Alexa, and Jenny just finishing playing. Alex's father was sitting at a harpsichord, Alexa sitting with a cello, and Karen and Jenny stood with their violins.

People applauded as the music ended, and the players all nodded in response. Jenny exhaled deeply and looked at her compatriots. "So? How was that?"

"Much better, Jen," Mike said, nodding. "You're getting back into it smoothly. Watch out on the eighth bar, though, you're behind by half a beat in the stretta."

"Mm, I heard that too," Jenny agreed. "I'll have it right for tomorrow's practice. I must admit, it feels good to play La Pucelle again. I'd missed her."

"It sounded good, even without me on the guitar," Alex mentioned from down in the crowd now. He'd left the rehearsal to retrieve his friends once Tatyana had informed him of their arrival. "Look who I found."

Jenny looked at the newcomers and beamed now. "There you are! What ho, lads? Glad you made it, I've never known a young man to turn down gourmet foods, so congratulations on playing to type."

"Thank you, Lady Penrose," they all chorused, nodding respectfully.

"Wow, Aunt Jen, you've already got them speaking in unison?" Alexa laughed as she stood up. She was playing cello for this number, an instrument she knew well enough, even if it wasn't her specialty. Two decades of hero-worshipping her older sister meant she knew her way around the string section. The four of them stepped off the stage now, bringing their instruments except for the harpsichord.

"Guys, meet my aunts Lisa and Mona, and you met my aunt Janet a few years ago," Alexa said, making the introductions. The three young men greeted the women, trying not to look shocked as they got hugs. They all remembered what Lady Penrose had told them earlier about not freezing up around women. They'd discussed it on the way over in Dave's car, and they were determined to make real progress, starting right the Hell now.

"So, Alex says you guys are a band?" Mona asked, looking at them now.

"Tell 'em the name, Alex," Alexa encouraged him with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes. "Alexa calls our band 'Kaiju Sex Massacre'."

Lisa made a bit of a skeptical face. "Ummmm, not to be contrary, sweetie, but that kinda sounds like something you would come up with, rather than Alli."

"Okay, maybe I technically said the words in a completely different context," Alex allowed, shaking his head. "But Alexa was the one who ran with it. She insisted it should be our band name and when I said no, she whined at these fools and bounced up and down in a microbikini until they caved. About point three seconds."

"Okay, that I can believe," Janet laughed, while Lisa and Mona nodded in agreement. "I'd probably change my law firm's name to Kaiju Sex Massacre if Alli bounced up and down in a microbikini at me too. And I'm willin' to bet the name suits. Care to give us a sample of your sound after dinner?"