Chapter 690 - JoAnna meets the Smiths

~ Los Angeles, White corp. HQ ~

Sarah and Aiden are in front of the main entrance of the White corp. HQ.

"Little girl!", Jarred called as he pushed Charlie's wheelchair.

"Old man!" Sarah greeted back. "You are right on time."

They exchanged greetings and Jarred asked: "Why are we meeting in front of White corp. HQ?"

"This is where my sister will examine Charlie's legs", Sarah responded and ushered them inside. She smiled lightly when she saw Jarred's and Charlie's confused looks. They probably expected a hospital.

Four of them took elevator to tenth floor and reached a lobby.

"I need to do some work. Let me know when you are done." Aiden gave a quick kiss to Sarah and went back into the elevator.

Sarah led Jarred and Charlie around the elevators toward the skybridge which connected White corp. HQ with adjacent building which is not visible from the street.

In second building, they took the elevator down to the third underground level where Sarah found the room JoAnna instructed previously, and she used intercom to let JoAnna know they are here. JoAnna opened the door from inside and let them in.

From when they entered the second building in the elevator and few times through the hallway, Sarah scanned her palm, cardkey and entered passcodes more than once so that doors open for them and they can advance. This is a high-security area and Sarah has access because of her special role within the company.

"Hi, you must be Charlie." JoAnna extended a hand.

"And you must be JoAnna." Charlie shook JoAnna's hand.

"Call me Anna, come in…"

Sarah introduced Jarred as well, and after a short hallway with more security biometrics, they found themselves in a large space full of various machines which piqued Sarah's interest. She heard about this place, but this is the first time she came in person. Sarah was always into electronics and most of these machines look like they came out of a sci-fi movie.

Bridgette was further down in the room, working on her laptop. She waved at Sarah and continued working.

They took a seat at one desk and discussed what JoAnna found based on results from previous exams which Charlie forwarded her.

"These don't look optimistic.", JoAnna didn't want to give him false hopes. "I called you to this location because here we have experimental equipment which can give us more details. I want to run additional tests before I tell you what I think. It will not take long."

JoAnna walked toward one machine and explained several different scans that it can perform. Charlie was excited at the thought that this is something new, and hopefully this young woman finds a way to fix his legs.

Machine looked like space-age capsule with a comfortable bed inside. It reminded Sarah of burial capsules from Start Trek, the ones where they put the body in and launch it into outer space.

Charlie removed his shoes and any metal objects from his waist down and they helped him to lie down inside.

JoAnna gave him special VR helmet. "It will be less claustrophobic with this."

Capsule lid slid with a faint whoosh sound from the side and completely sealed the capsule with Charlie inside.

For about five minutes there was a faint buzzing noise, and after that capsule opened.

"Done?", Sarah asked with a frown while studying different displays on the capsule-looking-machine.

"Yes." JoAnna almost laughed seeing Sarah's disappointment. It was obvious that Sarah expected something more… flashy to happen.

"It will take about ten minutes for computer to process data and then I can see it and discuss with you." JoAnna explained while helping Charlie get up.

"What's with you, old man?", Sarah noticed that Jarred is stiff, and quiet.

Words poured out of Jarred quickly like he was holding them back for a while: "Why are we in White corp. HQ?"

"This machine can only be found here.", JoAnna said with a straight face. But she understood that his question was more on the lines of how she has access to this place. After few seconds of observing Jarred, JoAnna explained. "I'm future Mrs. White… and even though is not official yet, I am in charge of department for medical research at White corp. which covers variety of medical branches, including advanced medical diagnosis equipment." She spread her hands, gesturing toward various machines in the room.

Jarred thought for a second before giving a series of small nods, like he understood something. He looked at Sarah. "Little girl, I see you have your own access…"

Sarah thought that she should not hide things from this old man, at least not obvious ones which he can find out by himself. At the end, Sarah hopes that she can have a good mutually beneficial relationship with the Smiths. "Yes. I work here. My expertise is computer security… and Aiden's last name is White."

Jarred gave a satisfied smile and didn't ask anything further on that topic.

Sarah had an impression that he knew this, or at least some of it, and that they passed some test. Well, it does not matter… it's not like Sarah didn't look up Jarred and his family before contacting him.

JoAnna got the results and looked at them for few minutes before speaking up. "This gives me additional information. I believe I can suggest at least one option for you, but I need to contact someone else and analyze everything before I give you a confident response with an estimate on the success rate of the procedure and time for rehabilitation."

"When can we hear back from you?" Charlie asked with a mix of anxiousness and anticipation.

"At least few hours. I don't think that you should just sit here and wait." JoAnna indicated to Jarred and Charlie that they should leave. If they stay, they will only delay her progress. She stood up and continued. "I will be in touch as soon as I finish. No later than tomorrow morning."

…

Sometime earlier, up on the eighteenth floor of the main building of White corp., Aiden approached Fox and David who were seated at their desks. "Let's have a sync up meeting in five minutes. My office."

Alexander and Marcus approached Fox and David as soon as Aiden went into his office.

"Is Sarah here?", Alexander asked.

Fox faked a smile. He does not like this Alexander. He often asks personal questions, especially related to Aiden and Sarah. "Why are you asking us if your boss is here?"

"Because she is often with your boss." Alexander sneered. He didn't want to pretend to be polite to Fox who often brushed him off.

"Of course, they are together… they are engaged." David gave Alexander a knowing look.

Fox rolled his eyes. He forgot that it's not only that Alexander is nosy, but David is a gossip factory… and now he actually has some gossip to share.

"Engaged?", Marcus could not hold back his curiosity. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes." David nodded repeatedly. "We had a conference call and Aiden joined from some tropical place. He was on a vacation." David gave Marcus and Alexander another knowing look while making a dramatic pause. "Sarah showed up behind him and showed us her engagement ring as a proof. They were so relaxed with each other, you can tell how much they are in sync and lovey-dovey…"

Marcus didn't notice that Alexander's face darkened, and he walked away… David and Fox did, and they assumed that he didn't like the news.

"Is Alex having a crush on your Boss? He came more than once asking about Aiden and Sarah…" David asked Marcus.

Marcus only shrugged. He really didn't know.

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