Bathroom Emergency

"Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm very busy!" Doc tells the men in black. They hesitate, believing for just a moment that this is a bad time and that they should come back later.

Doc double times it to the nearest elevator. The doors are closing by the time the two men come to their senses and run after him, pain guns at ready.

"Blue Lounge," Doc orders the elevator the instant the door closes. He hopes they can't hear through it. The elevator obeys and whisks him downward. Micro LEDs embedded in the elevator door light up a blue arrow pointing to the right. A sign beneath reads "Blue Lounge, 12 meters." The door slides open.

Doc walks hurriedly towards the Lounge, almost tripping over the change of gravity as he exits the elevator. Ahead, he sees another elevator opening up further down the hall. He ducks into the Blue Lounge as the doors open and the two men in black rush out and look around.

The Blue Lounge is a sort of art deco underwater themed restaurant. It's mostly a sort of open, indoor patio with chaise lounges arranged for conversation and people and/or dolphin watching. Doc practically jumps over a very hairy, clothless Neaderthal looking Alpha Centaurian relaxing on a chaise talking to some fat guy in a day-glow Hawaiian shirt. Doc apologizes as he slips on back towards the bar and the restrooms beyond.

If Doc was not being chased, he would note that this is very nice and clean for a public restroom. Blue tile and shells everywhere, spotless, and above all odorless. There three urinals, one occupied by another naked, furry Alpha Centaurian, and three stalls, all vacant. Doc makes his way quickly to the last stall and locks the door.

He waits, quietly. There is nothing but the sound of circulating air and the tinkle of urine. The tinkle stops. The Alpha Centaurian grunts. The tinkle starts again. It sputters. He grunts again. Nothing. The Centaurian starts humming. Doc tries to ignore him and listen outside the door.

"Are you listening to me piss, you perv?" says the Alpha Centaurian.

Doc stays quiet.

"I can't go if you're listening to me, you sick fucker. God, you humans and your fucking weird perversions," says the hairy naked alien. "Unbelievable," he mumbles as he leaves.

Doc waits in silence a bit longer. Five minutes go by. No one else enters the restroom. Doc pulls out his i-Browse.

"Steve," he calls quietly. "Come in Steve."

Dr. Ritenrong appears on the screen. "What's up, Doc?" he quips. "Hey, why are you calling me from a toilet?"

"I'm hiding. I was just approached by two men in black suits. They know who I am."

"What? Who were they?"

"I don't know! They were Asian. They had body armor and pain guns, and their glasses had heads up displays."

"Are you on drugs?"

"What? No!"

"Sorry, its just that there are some pretty powerful hallucinogens for sale up there and I was just eliminating that as a possibility."

"I'm very certain these guys are not an hallucination."

"Did they say what they wanted?"

"No, I just got away from them."

"And you're hiding in a bathroom?"

"At The Blue --"

"SHHHT! Shut up!" Steve almost yells at him. "You said they have HUD glasses, right?"

"Yeah,"

"They could be monitoring com traffic. You're probably already blown. Damnit, I've got a lot of work to do on our com system. We need some new headsets with entanglement encryption and with a mobile quantum rout-"

"Nevermind that shit now, what do I do?"

"You've got to get out of there, I guess, or find out what they want. Your best bet is probably to get underwater. If they're communicating with a central intelligence, that will block their signal, at least a little bit. Might slow them down, anyway. You can get anywhere on the station from underwater, though. The Grotto is in Sub-Basement 4. Should be subs for rent down there. I'll see if I can figure out who these guys are. I'll keep in touch. OH! Just thought, the i-Browse won't work in the sub unless you're docked, and if you call me they'll probably pick up the signal with voice recognition. They probably are scanning for my voice now, too. Okay, okay, don't worry, I'll find a way to keep in contact. Keep your eyes open. Out."