Jeffrey paced outside the library. Keri should have been down here already. No doubt she and Lewis were…hmm. He peered through the open doors of the library and out the French doors. No sign of Caryn coming from the infirmary or lab either. Ooookay. Enough of that line of thought…at least until later. He looked up at a faint click of a door closing somewhere upstairs. Was it…? Yes, Keri was on her way down. Moving quickly, he entered the library and sat down in an armchair. While he wouldn't be able to fool her into thinking he wasn't anxious about speaking with her, at least he wouldn't look so much on edge.
"Hi, sorry I'm late," Keri said as she entered the room and dropped into the chair across from him. "What's so important?"
"Well…I don't know that it's important, but it's odd and considering who's involved it could be…"
"Jeff Garrett, you still can't come to the point in less than five minutes, can you?"
Jeffrey sighed. "I do try." He frowned as she chuckled. "Keri, our new Security Commander is hiding something…I don't think it really affects us, but we can't afford to take any chances."
She shrugged. "So? Can't Mark figure it out? I thought Lewis told me that arbiters were trained to get the truth."
"Sure they are, but not subtly. And I really don't want to piss Karl off over this. I really don't think it's a problem for us."
"Right. And when's the last time you were right about something…ah, I'm sorry," she interrupted herself as he bit off a snarl. "I was teasing. You do remember teasing, don't you?"
"Just barely. Damn it, Keri, you're the only woman who's ever dared…"
"Oh, come on. You mean Caryn doesn't tease you? She's gotta be at least as bad as I am that way."
"That," he informed her, "is different."
"Uh huh. So why do you think I won't piss him off?"
"Oh, come on," he echoed intentionally. "You know how good you are. You'll get him to talk about it and he'll think it's his idea."
"I don't know, Jeff. Karl doesn't approve of me."
"What? Why?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure…but you know how Anja feels about Sloan?" Keri paused as he frowned. "That's how he sees me."
"You've got to be kidding."
"Nope. He thinks I'm a useless, brainless, bim…uh, female."
"That's ridiculous. You're brilliant, anyone can see that."
"Can they? Sloan's brilliant, hell, she's damn near a genius, but what's the general opinion on her among your people?"
Jeffrey sighed. "Okay, good point. Tom and Karl are the only ones that are particularly impressed with her. After the Alaska fiasco, Karl practically thinks she walks on water."
"Well, he's seen her at work. No one else has…well, except Lewis, and he's so pissed that she took Tom away from him that he wouldn't admit that there's anything positive about her." She turned and gave him a wry look. "And Karl has not seen me at work."
"Maybe that would be an advantage for you. He won't be expecting you to be able to read him."
Keri's sudden chuckle was absolutely wicked. "A stealth reading, huh? Okay, I'll do it. I need to keep in practice anyway."
"Great, thanks…I owe you."
"Right…NOT." Her expression saddened as he tried to disagree. "No, really, Jeff. I've been feeling kind of useless. At least this is something I can help with."
"Use…hell, Keri. You are the least useless female I've ever met, sapiens or dominant." He frowned as her eyes filled with tears. "What's wrong?"
She sighed, shaking her head. "All my PSI testing is on hold…most of the subjects are unavailable. Since Lewis won't commit to coexistence, Mark can't let me help with anything that could compromise his organization…and I can't blame him. I'd never intentionally betray you guys, but I might accidentally say something to Lewis when I shouldn't. After all, I trust him with my life."
"Hmm. You must be bored out of your mind. You always had a couple of projects going."
"Yeah. It's the pits."
"Have you talked to your mate about it?"
"We're going to try and find me something to do tonight. What, I don't know."
"I'm sorry," he offered, cupping her cheek and jaw in his hand.
... ...
Lewis stopped short in the doorway. His jaw clenched and a growl escaped before he could suppress it. The two standing in the library turned to stare at him. "You will remove your hand or you will lose it," he said, his voice unnaturally quiet.
"Of course," Jeffrey said calmly and stepped away from Keridwen. "No offense intended, Lewis."
Keridwen was not nearly so calm. "Lewis, what's wrong?" she snapped, her tone reflecting the irritation he felt spike through the bond.
"You are my bonded mate. He has no business being so familiar with you."
Her sigh echoed her exasperation. "Jeff is an old friend. He didn't mean anything…"
"I know that. If he had, he would no longer be among the living."
"What? Oh for…get a grip. You know it doesn't mean anything, but you still can't deal with it?" She lifted her left hand, practically shoving her ring in his face. "I'm your fiancée, Lewis, not your possession."
"Keridwen…according to our customs, you are exactly that."
Jeffrey spoke up. "Keri, it's okay, really."
"No, Jeff, it isn't. This…ah, damn it."
Lewis frowned. Doors had opened on the second and third floors. Other residents of the main house were heading down for dinner. "We will discuss this later, my own. It's time for dinner."
She pulled away as he reached for her arm. "I used to consider that an endearment."
"It's meant as such."
"Is it? Or is it a reinforcement of the idea that you possess me?" She shook her head, sadness and disgust warring for dominance in her aura. "You know what? I'm not hungry. Good night." She turned on her heel and headed for the stairs.
"Keridwen…" he started to follow her, then half turned and snarled as Jeffrey grabbed his arm.
"Let her go, Lewis. She doesn't understand and if you try to talk to her about it before she cools down, you're both going to regret it."
That was it...no more interference. He took Jeffrey by the throat, lifted him and slammed him up against the wall before the younger man could react. His grin was mirthless…so what if he was nearly ten years older…his health and fitness were restored and…damn. None of that mattered to his mate. He began to relax his grip.
... ...
Mark frowned when Keri ran past him as he descended the stairs. A sudden flash of alarm washed over him, followed by desperation. He quickened his pace and soon heard several other sets of footsteps converging on the source of the problem…the library. He entered with Alexa and Karl hard on his heels to find Jeffrey dangling from Lewis' grasp. This was not good.
"Oh, Jesus," Dr. Tate breathed as he skidded to a halt just behind Alexa.
Mark grimaced. What tone to take? How could he get Lewis to release Jeffrey rather than simply snap his neck in annoyance? Lewis respected strength and resolve. "Put him down, Lewis." He kept his tone even and non-threatening but put as much force in the command voice as he could manage.
Lewis turned to glare at them balefully, but carefully set his captive down on the floor. Jeffrey rubbed his throat and collapsed in a chair. Caryn Townsend slipped out from behind Alexa and Tate and moved to hover over Jeffrey protectively. She had the good sense not to aggravate the situation by confronting Lewis in any way, but her eyes had become as hard and cold as fine jade.
"I tire of your interference," Lewis ground out, making it clear that he was addressing all of them. "Both with my property and with my mate. You will plan to remove yourselves." He paused, his expression considering. "I'll give you two weeks to comply."
It was time to apprise Lewis of the latest development Anja had reported. He waited until the older man had almost reached the door to speak. "We won't be going anywhere. You need us to protect your mate." He forced himself to hold his position as Lewis turned on his heel to confront him.
"I will protect my mate. I am fully recovered and no longer require assistance."
Mark smiled grimly as Lewis turned back towards the door. "Perhaps if the council was not about to launch a campaign against the partially adapted your protection would suffice. Do you truly believe that you alone can protect her from their direct interest?"
True to his expectations, Lewis halted again, his back stiffening. He waited patiently as the former chameleon master turned…his shock and dismay plain to read. "The council…why are they interested in the partially adapted? What use could they possibly have…" he trailed off.
"You've found one…useful," Mark commented mildly. Lewis' flash of anger at the comment was also as expected…good. "The council's researchers have developed a genogenesis serum that can alter sapiens DNA. It basically restructures the individual from the inside out."
"I'm familiar with the project," Lewis said dryly.
"It's invariably fatal when used on true sapiens. However, it has proven to be uniformly successful on the partially adapted."
"Oh God," Tate muttered in the background. "Did they use ticks as a delivery system?"
Everyone turned to stare at the tall doctor. "Ticks?" Mark asked.
"Yeah, there was a girl, Kelly, who was kidnapped by Randall Lynch. We, uh, Tom, rescued her and her friend and we sent them home to their parents. The other girl…Darcy, I think her name was, disappeared without a trace. Kelly ended up on the ledge of a roof, ready to jump because she was in horrible pain and having PTSD episodes."
Mark waited patiently for Tate to explain what this had to do with the council's experiment, but the man had fallen silent and was staring pensively at the floor. "And?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. The police called me in and I got her back to the lab. She was running dangerously high fevers, had spiking headaches…way past a migraine type of pain, and was experiencing personality shifts. Actually attacked me physically…almost sexually." Dr. Tate's face was a study in embarrassment. "Then she just died in her sleep. Later we found a tick under her skin and it was secreting a substance that we determined caused genetic alteration. It changed our lab monkey from primate base to a 1.6 differential."
Interesting. This was not something Dr. Attwood had mentioned in his debriefing. "Did the monkey survive?"
"Well…I guess I didn't control the experiment very well. We were treating this as a weapon to be used against us so I developed a kind of counter-serum. But instead of changing a second monkey and then using the counter-serum to change it back to base, I used the counter-serum on the initial monkey. It died; its system couldn't take the stress and began to break down internally…it bled out. I don't know if that would have happened with just the initial change. I didn't leave it at 1.6 long enough."
"Hmm. We can get you lab animals to continue the experiment…" he broke off as Tate shook his head.
"The CIA confiscated everything; I don't have a sample of the serum."
Lewis cleared his throat, looking very annoyed. "You seem to have forgotten something, Mark. Keridwen is half of a bonded pair, a breeding pair. Not even the council may harm her."
"Yeah, but would your people consider that harming her," Ed retorted before Mark could answer. "Maybe they'd just think they were improving her."
"There is that," Mark agreed.
"I bonded with her as partially adapted. Were her genetics altered she would not be the same woman I bonded with…that constitutes harm under our law."
Mark shrugged. "That is a detail the council might find it convenient to ignore. And if not, they can simply wait until she is no longer fertile and give the serum to her then. Meanwhile, we have other partially adapted to protect."
... ...
Ed frowned as several pairs of eyes darted in his direction and then slid away. Why were they looking at him? Or were they? He looked around and behind him…no one else was even close.
"I have no need to protect the far flung members of your faction. My mate is my priority and I can protect her without your help."
"Uh, Lewis?" Jeff croaked. "Keri might appreciate your being willing to help protect her friends here."
Ed watched Lewis' eyebrows shoot up, and then frowned as Mark, Jeff, Alexa, and Caryn glanced at him and then away for the second time. What the hell was going on? "Okay, why does everybody keep looking at me?" The four were now looking anywhere but at him. "Caryn? What gives?" Caryn sank down on the arm of Jeff's chair and busied herself with examining the injured man's throat for what had to be the fifth time. "Jeff?" Jeff shrugged and gestured at his throat.
"It is the genes," Lewis exclaimed in a satisfied tone. "I knew it couldn't be the training." All eyes turned to Lewis. "It has to be a deficiency in Daniel and Garrett's line that both of their sons are attracted to sapiens," he explained cryptically.
Only Alexa seemed to understand. "You must have been quite annoyed," she said.
"Annoyed at what?" Ed finally shouted. Would someone please tell me what the hell you're talking about?"
... ...
Alexa gritted her teeth. This was not the time or the place for Ed to be told something of such impact. "Dr. Tate…" she began, trying to keep it impersonal.
"No way," he said vehemently, the truth finally sinking in. "There's just no…ah, jeez. That can't…no." He backed slowly away from them, his eyes darting back and forth.
She could sense a trapped feeling; he was bordering on panic. "Ed, calm down. You're among friends." Why wasn't Mark projecting calm? She looked at the arbiter…he was trying, but appeared to be in pain. Damn, he must have overextended himself trying to deal with Lewis. Bloody marvelous. "Look, why don't we…" she broke off as Ed dashed out of the room. "Damn it!" Turning to glare at Lewis she told him, "Somehow I'm certain this is your fault."
"This is definitely not my fault," Alexa heard her sire say as she followed Ed down the hall towards the kitchen.
... ...
Lewis returned the stares of those remaining in the library. "I had nothing to do with either Dr. Tate's DNA or his ignorance of his status," he said defensively. "It was at least as much of a surprise to me as it was to him." He glared in Caryn Townsend's direction as a nervous giggle escaped her.
"Perhaps not," Mark agreed. "But your actions and the need to inform you of the danger to your mate in such a public place did contribute to Dr. Tate's reaction."
"Perhaps it was more your sense of the dramatic, and your desire to force my hand that is responsible for it," he returned silkily.
"It doesn't matter," Karl interrupted. For once the soldier's face was hard. "Tate will calm down eventually and will have to accept it. Meanwhile, I would like to know why I haven't been apprised of this risk to our security. It isn't possible to adequately plan for all contingencies if I'm not kept in the loop."
Lewis nodded his approval. Karl was living up to the expectations he had of him based on their limited contact when the soldier was undergoing advanced training at the chameleon compound. There might indeed be an advantage to allowing the faction to remain with Karl in charge of their security. "I agree. This, in turn, endangers my mate, not to mention her…friends. When were you planning to inform us?"
"I only just found out myself this morning," Mark's tone was grudging. "Their research and an outline of the expected uses of the serum were included in the materials Anja appropriated from her delivery to the council. As to informing you earlier, you know very well that I was…distracted by Anja's…accident."
Anja. He'd almost forgotten about his mate's sib and her problems. As her actions had proved, the courier was dedicated to the faction. She would be torn if the faction was forced to leave…and Keridwen would no doubt be quite depressed if Anja chose the faction over her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could not require that the faction leave, not now when his mate was so emotionally vulnerable. And he had to see to his own relations with her. "Jeffrey," he asked, his eyes snapping open. "You've dealt with angry females on a…romantic level, how do you suggest I deal with Keridwen's upset?" His mouth twitched as all of the others except Jeffrey stared at him in shock. Obviously they thought him too arrogant to consult with an expert when he was out of his depth…or perhaps too arrogant to admit to being out of his depth.
"Not just with angry females," Jeffrey said with a wry grin. "But with an angry Keri. Hmm…" he coughed and cleared his injured throat. "Something she'd never expect from you. Candy…no, flowers, I think. Yeah…dark red roses, the kind with a strong scent. She loves those, and I don't think she'd ever picture you giving her something like that."
"I don't see why not," he mused, putting aside his annoyance at the reminder that Jeffrey had pursued Keridwen with the intent to impregnate her. "I gave her chocolates when I returned from LA."
Jeffrey smirked. "But were they your idea?"
"Hmm. It was my idea to give her something special. One of the sapiens we met with suggested the truffles."
"My point exactly. Oh," he continued as Lewis tried to interrupt. "There's a rose shop on Shaw near Maroa that usually carries them. But call and ask first, I've got the number up in my room."
That answered his question. "Thank you. May I bother you for the number now?"
"Of course." Jeffrey stood and held out a hand to Caryn. The woman looked bemused and bewildered at the turn the conversation had taken. "Will you come upstairs with us?" he asked. She smiled, trying to hide the flash of alarm she had felt, no doubt concerned about leaving Jeffrey alone with the man who had nearly throttled him. Then she blushed and took Jeffrey's hand. Lewis turned away before allowing a grimace to surface.
... ...
Karl looked at Mark. "So much for a peaceful dinner."
"Hmm. Well, I'm not letting it go to waste, they can forage through the leftovers later," Mark returned. "Shall we?"
"Absolutely." They left the library and strolled toward the dining room. "So, are there any other security risks you haven't advised me of?"
Mark sighed. "It was not intentional. I was in the middle of reviewing the material Anja brought back with her when I learned of her…accident."
"There was no accident," Karl said, letting a challenge surface in his voice.
"You will support our statement on it."
"I don't…" he broke off as Mark abruptly steered him into the study and closed the door behind them.
"Karl, she has an injury to her reproductive system. We don't know how or when, but the pre-birth canal was damaged. If she attempts to deliver offspring, it will rupture and she is likely to die. She'll have to be sterilized. You know what will be said if there is no documentation as to the injury. Anja has served us well, and will continue to do so. We feel it is in everyone's best interest to provide that documentation so that she is given the proper respect."
He nodded. "I don't have a problem with that. But this is another example of information that was not provided quickly enough for me to fully support the faction. Don't you trust me?"
"Of course. We…that is, I am simply not used to having you here yet. After we lost Stephen, Alexa was handling everything military related. Since she is still part of all briefings as my second…I will remind both her and Jeffrey that you need to participate in all of our meetings so that if I neglect to include you, they will see to it." He paused, sighing again. "Honestly, Karl. I was not trained to lead. Paul Barnes' death at the hands of the CIA was a devastating blow to us…or at least to me."
"Your leadership seems to be more than adequate. Perhaps a bit undisciplined…"
"I am in a constant state of surprise. None of this was anticipated…we expected to deal with Tom Daniels. Lewis was an unexpected complication, not to mention Keri Ashton. But I think…no, I know that she is the key to our success."
"Surely you jest? She's…well, um, unconventional."
Mark chuckled quietly. "Hmm, well, that is certainly a good description of her, however limiting." He shook his head, his amusement plain to read. "Karl, Keri Ashton is one of the most gifted Empaths I've ever encountered. And she is brilliant, both in general knowledge and in strategy. Even Lewis is impressed with her tactical instincts."
"Sure, for a sapiens, she's gifted."
"Don't be dismissive. I was not limiting my comparison to sapiens. She is more gifted than Lewis. I'm very much afraid that she is also more gifted than Mercedes Andreas."
Karl swallowed his shock. Mercedes was still the council's titular, though rarely consulted advisor, despite her advanced age. Her abilities were legendary…disobedient children were threatened with her name. And this…this…he shook his head. "That is…difficult to believe."
"Why? Because Keri is only partially adapted? We are still very much in the throes of our evolution. Perhaps Keri is an advance that will show up more often as time goes on. Remember, Mercedes' mother was one of the partially adapted."
"I know, and Mercedes' children were all quite gifted, even though no one felt that the sires were worthy of her."
"And of those children, Ryan Patrick was the most gifted," Mark reminded him.
"Ryan…oh…shit. Lewis' father?"
"Yes. You can see why we are so hopeful of what this union will produce, and why both Keri and Lewis are so important to us."
"But Lewis doesn't believe in coexistence."
"He believes in his bond mate."
"But damn it, Mark. She acts like one of those new age airheads."
ELSEWHERE
Damien frowned as he approached his office. What was he doing here? The boy was supposed to be moving his operation from San Diego to Temple City. Forcing down his anger, he pushed open the door. "About time you showed up," the young man sitting on his desk drawled.
"What do you want, Randall?" Damien asked; his voice mild.
"Well, I've been waiting for orders, but haven't had any. Didn't think you wanted me just to go off on my own." He smiled disarmingly. "You didn't appreciate it when my brothers took matters into their own hands."
"Clones, Randall. They were not your brothers, and to refer to them as such dishonors your true sibs and your mother. I'm sure you appreciate that I will not tolerate your dishonoring my birth-sib in this way. And clones have no discipline. That's why we discontinued the program." He'd sat down in his chair and turned on the computer before the first part of his nephew's statement had registered. "What orders were you waiting for?"
"On the proposal to begin distribution of the engineered ticks," Randall told him, the tone of his voice implying an unspoken 'of course'. "By the way, your new plaything is pretty hot, but you might want to keep an eye on her…hers are wandering."
"What?"
"She was giving me the eye. Hey, at least she's keeping it in the family."
"You will not touch her. I'm certain she's bearing."
"Yeah, noticed that. Take it you're going to keep her as a mate?"
"I've been considering it. She is quite…satisfying."
Randall shrugged. "Let me know if you decide against it, I wouldn't mind sampling that one." He stood and restlessly paced the room. "So, what about my proposal? Will the council authorize the distribution, or not?"
"I've seen no such proposal. When did you send it?"
"I gave it to your little courier playmate when she delivered the funding information on Wednesday. It was in the packet with the rest of the results from the field tests and the data we put together on potential targets." He almost sputtered at the lack of response. "I asked for it to be prioritized for yesterday's meeting. We need to hit the universities with strong athletic programs and the psychic fairs and we need to hit them soon. The participation level of both drops off during the winter. Besides, I'd think you'd want as many conversions as possible before the Chosen do their thing next month."
Damien swallowed. "Anja hasn't returned here yet."
"No? Well, I didn't pass her on the way…I would have noticed that Hayabusa she was riding."
"I want you to discretely check the hospitals en-route back to your base. She had an accident a short time ago and injured her hip. Perhaps she's had another and was injured seriously enough that she was unable to call."
"Or maybe she's found herself some hot young stud that isn't sensitive enough to know that she's b…" Randall's words were satisfyingly choked off as Damien grabbed his nephew by the neck and spun him around.
"She would not…" he ground out. "She is mine." He stared down; frowning as Randall calmly returned the look and waited patiently to be released. Letting go, he dropped back into his chair. "Anja needs no other. I give her all that she can take, and then some."
"Whatever." Randall grabbed the carafe of fresh water that he always kept on his desk and drank directly from it. Damien shook his head; the young had no sense of propriety. "I'll check the hospitals. Hope they didn't examine her belongings too closely."
