| David cheerfully plays with his granddaughter, Hope, before running off to work. |
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| His hands are not nearly as reliable as they were during his youth, so his days as a surgeon have come to an end. Now his is work day consists mostly of diagnosis, consulting, and administrative nonsense. The nine holes of virtual golf he plays helps to break the day up nicely, however. |
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| His routine is interrupted, one particular morning, when his secretary breaks in over the intercom and nervously announces that he has unscheduled visitors. David, in the midst of a crucial shot for a birdie on seven, asks for them to make an appointment to see him later in the day. |
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| David can hear a commotion over her protests on the intercom, and on the other side of the door just before it is opened with an unneccessary show of force. David sets his game down and eyes the intruders. An older gentleman wearing a military uniform is flanked by two brutes in fatigues. One of the brutes closes the door as the older man enters. |
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| The uniformed intruder introduces himself as General John Buford, but does not offer any kind of handshake or greeting. Instead, he places a briefcase down on David’s desk. Then, addressing him as Dr. Barimen, he issues what sound like an order for David to sit down. David’s eyebrows furl with annoyance as he demands that they leave. |
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| General Buford sighs impatiently and announces that he would prefer to do this in the pleasant surroundings of David’s office, rather than in the care of military confinement. David takes pause at the General’s threat. Even though he has done nothing wrong, the two thugs standing at the door appear to ready to jump at any order. Besides, the embarrassment of being taken from his office would not be worth the effort. |
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| David sits at his desk indignantly, and waits for the general to speak. With a quick, fluid motion, the general’s briefcase is opened and a manilla folder appears on the desk. It has been opened to a set of grainy photographs. David hesitates for a moment, then thumbs tentatively through them. He is surprised when he recognises a youthful Kacey in the glossy security photos. The general nods and comments on David’s reaction, acknowledging that David does indeed know her. |
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| David agrees, silently cursing his lack of control, but adds that it has been many years since he has seen her. The general smirks, suggesting that he does not belive the claim. He turns the page to another set of photos. They seem to be more recent, and taken in one of the rooms at the hospital. David recognises his “miracle patient” immediately. |
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| General Buford states that David has been treating Ms. Kimura, who was found during a mission to rescue personnel who were trapped by an earthquake in an underground research facility. David hesitates , then makes a closer analysis between the photos of the “miracle patient” and those of Kacey. The resemblance is unmistakable. David shakes his head. What the general is suggesting …is impossible. He tells Buford that the girl he treated was no more than nineteen or twenty years-old. Kacey would be nearly an elder by now, if she wasn’t an elder already. |
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| David continues to tell the account of how the girl was found among the scientists and military personnel treated that night after the “accident”. Her wounds were determined to be fatal, but she somehow still clung to life. Her recovery was nothing short of impossible, and so she was dubbed Dr. Barimen’s “miracle patient”. Nobody knew what her name was, or where she lived; and there was no record of any missing sims matching her description. Then one day, she was gone. She had not been discharged, and she would not have been permitted to discharge herself. The hospital filed a police report, but she was never seen again. |
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| The general slowly shakes his head in smug disbelief of David’s story. He tells David that he is incorrect, and that she has been seen again. Flipping back to the first set of security photos, Buford barks that she was recorded only two days ago by a hidden surveillance camera while trespassing near a restricted mine entrance. It is the same mine entrance where David and Kacey were rescued together more than thirty years ago. General Buford grimaces and tells “Dr. Barimen” that he will personally oversee every single day of David’s lifetime imprisonment for espionage and treason, if he does not cooperate and return the classified documents he instructed Kacy to steal from the research facility. |
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| David stands speechless, confused, and over-stimulated as his brain attempts to process what he has just seen and heard. Two equally disturbing thoughts linger through his mind. First, is that Kacey has not only defied death, but has evidently also defied the passage of time. Second, is that General Buford is aware of her condition, and believes that David is somehow invested in it. And the documents Buford is demanding… are they related to what happened to Kacey? Then his heart races when a thought occurs to him. Could these be the same documents he has been searching for all these years, containing the information about what his ancestors were doing in the old mine? |
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| The general instructs his men to ransack David’s office to locate the documents. Never once taking his suspicious eyes off of the silent and legendary doctor, Buford gloats that he is well aware of the research he and his “buddies”, Reid and Kacey Kimura, had conducted all those years ago. Growing visibly impatient as his men tear through David’s office, Buford leans uncomfortably close to world-renowned surgeon, and whispers that he and his own “buddies” plan on being the ones to profit from it. |
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| Buford fumes as he leaves empty-handed, warning David that this visit to his office was a courtesy-call. The next visit, the one to his home, will not be nearly as polite. |
Stories by Zoxell 
Wow. Just WOW. I can NOT wait to see where this is going! Poor David! I hope things get sorted out and Kacy at least attempts to contact him in order to let him in on what’s going on!
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Buford managed a particularly nasty snarl in all of those shots, nicely done. I wonder what Miss Kimura knows about David’s family that he doesn’t?
I think perhaps the most enjoyable part of your legacy is that in each generation someone in the neighbourhood knows more about the Barimen family legacy and history than the Barimens do themselves. It makes for a rather enjoyable mystery.
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Ah! therein lies the mystery …information is a very scarce and valuable resource 😉
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I agree with Tipix, your legacy is a really wonderful puzzle. I love all the shots as well. Im wondering how Kacey is so young and why those documents are so important that Buford wants them.
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hahaha i love how the “thugs” are standing there smiling with there adorable smiles. How terrifying! lol! =}
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