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Counsellor’s Report: Notes from initial meeting with Lucas North:

LN kept his appointment with me this afternoon.  He arrived promptly at 2pm and accepted a seat opposite me without speaking.  He gave one word replies to my initial questions confirming his basic details and then waited for me to begin the session.  His attitude was not aggressive, but essentially unresponsive.

I asked him what he hoped to get out of the session, and he shrugged his shoulders, so I continued, “Perhaps you could tell me why you are here.”

“Harry Pearce said I had to come, and my last counsellor failed me.”

“I am sorry you feel your previous counsellor wasn’t able to help.”  LN shrugged.  “Or do you think that they failed you as an examiner might?” 

“You choose.”

Note: the memo from K said simply: This man is impossible to work with.

Rather than trying to encourage LN to open up about the past, I decided to introduce a basic word association game.  “Bucket.”

“Aardvark.”

“Fish.”

“Bison.”

“Beer.”

“Caribou.”

“Home.”

“Dolphin.”

“Family.”

“Echidna.”

“Coffee.”

“Ferret.”

I thought of trying the Rorschach Test, but suspected we’d continue to progress through goat, horse and so on.

“Perhaps you’d like to spend some time in silence to give you the opportunity to relax and then we can spend the last few minutes talking about whatever you’d like.”

LN shut his eyes but gave no sign of physically relaxing.  When I deemed it might be time to bring our session to a close, I pushed his chair back and his eyes shot open.  He stared at me, stood up, said, “Is that it?” and when I nodded departed.

Follow Up: Contact HP to say defer next session until LN ready to come.

***

Harry Pearce: Evaluation on Lucas North’s suitability to continue in Section D

North has a significant number of issues which need addressing.  However, he remains committed to the work of the Department, and I see no reason why he should be placed on sick leave.  His general attitude is unhelpful, and he can be challenging, but he gets on with the work and has significant insights into areas where we would otherwise be struggling.  I would rather work with someone who challenges orders than one who blindly obeys them, since the chance of survival is greater that way.  The question of whether he can be turned is not to be ignored, but in my opinion, this is no more likely than any other member of the section and he, at least, is very aware of the possibility.

Private note, not for general consumption: On a good day I only twice feel like throttling him.

***

Ros Myers: In conversation with a friend

“What’s the new guy in your department like?  He seems quite good looking.  Has he made a pass at you yet?  Or you him?”

“He’s got too many issues to make a good prospect.  Not that you’d know it to look at – he keeps himself firmly in check, but you can tell from how tense he is most of the time.  And who wants to spend all their time unravelling their partner’s past history?  Life is for living, not dwelling on.

“Which isn’t to say he can’t be good company.  We went to an art exhibition the other evening.  It was late night opening, and he’s surprisingly knowledgeable, and I’ve suggested we might go to one or two of the Proms concerts if we can find something worth hearing.  It’s actually quite nice to do something like that with someone who enjoys going and yet makes no other demands.

“Well, that’s not quite true.  We’ve had a meal together a couple of times and he insisted I order dessert, which he's then eaten for me, as well as his own.  Don’t look so horrified, he pays for both desserts, he’s not taking advantage of me.

“Oh, and there’s one other reason why I wouldn’t bother looking at him as a potential partner: he’s gay.  So you see that’s a no-go.”

***

Jo Pearce: Diary entry

I do wish I could help Lucas.  I hate seeing him as he currently is and yet he rejects anything I might offer him.  He’s not rude about it, just politely declines.  I’ve tried offering to pick up a sandwich for him a couple of times, but he’s shaken his head, and even when I widen the offer to the rest of the Grid he still refuses, which means all I end up doing is bringing everyone else’s sandwiches back.

He needs feeding up, and I’d love to offer to cook for him, but I know he’d refuse and anyway, I have no idea what sort of food he likes.  Well, apart from doughnuts and cake in general, but he never expresses any personal preferences even when we’re all chatting about things.

I suppose I should simply wait.  I have thought about saying if he ever wanted to talk, I’d listen to him, but I doubt he’d talk to anyone, least of all me.

***

Malcolm Wynn-Jones talking to his mother

“It’s been interesting watching the dynamic now that Lucas is settling in as part of the team.  From reports we’d received it sounded as if he’d be a problem, but on a day-to-day basis he’s fitting in very well.  Granted, he has his odd quirks, and he starts at sudden loud noises – the thunderstorm the other day was a problem, especially since the lights kept flickering on and off, but Ros and Adam kept him supplied with biscuits – which reminds me I need to take in another packet in case of future emergencies.

“Basically, so long as he’s treated like a new team member who’s been transferred in from a different department, he’s fine.  Jo seems to want to mother him, which it’s fairly clear he, not unnaturally, resents.  Fortunately she’s backed off for the last few days, I suspect Ros has had a word with her, which is probably as well.  So far Lucas has remained polite, but if he gets under too much stress, I suspect he will be quite sharp with her.

“You ask about Harry?  There’s definite friction there, which I can’t entirely make out.  Yet Harry hasn’t said anything about requesting Lucas be transferred, which would be understandable since they rub each other up the wrong way.  One could suggest that Harry doesn’t want to be one more person to let Lucas down, but he’s not sentimental in that way, and he certainly wouldn’t keep anyone on the team who he didn’t think was up to scratch, that would be far too risky.  I also get the feeling that Lucas takes great delight in winding Harry up.

“So we shall see.  But as far as I can tell, Lucas North will be with us for the foreseeable future.”

***

Adam Carter: Late Friday afternoon

Adam stretched his arms above his head, arched his back and groaned.  “Thank goodness this week is over,” he said.  “I shall push off in a few minutes and I suggest you do the same, Lucas.  It’s been a long week.”

Lucas, who was concentrating on his screen, nodded, but made no further response.

“You got anything planned for tomorrow?”

“Not especially.  Laundry and some food shopping I suppose.”

“Do you fancy coming over to my place?  We could sink a few beers, maybe grab a takeaway.”

“Yeah, okay.  What time?”

“One-ish?  The pub down the road does a decent ploughman’s.  But will that give you enough time to get your chores done?”

“I can do my shopping on the way home and get the laundry done tonight, so whenever.”

“In which case, come round about midday and we’ll walk down to the pub together.”

“No problem.”  Lucas finished what he was doing and switched his computer off.  “And thank you.”

As Adam left the Grid, he carefully avoided looking at the few members of Section D who hadn’t yet gone home.  He’d been convinced there was more to Lucas North than was immediately apparent and he was delighted to have been proved right.

***

Lucas North: Letter written

Father,

I suggest you stop writing to me.  I am not interested in your opinion of what I should be doing and even less about how you feel I’m letting the family down.  Despite your demand I shall not be coming up for the family party, to be displayed as a dutiful son and for you to boast, yet again, about the importance of a loving home.  It was always something you put on for outward show and yet never demonstrated once the audience was no longer there.

I am now living my own life, not one that you have attempted to dictate, withdrawing both finance and kindness whenever I chose something different.  You claimed to be preparing me for adult life, and yet you never taught me anything which would stand me in good use, except to be wary of those whose words weren’t borne out by their actions.

I have found someone who loves me for who I am, not for who he thinks I should be.  And yes, it is a man, so I imagine you will now cut me out of your life forever.  That can’t be too soon.

Lucas