Chapter Eighteen
For Roger Smith and Rowan Daestar, life began to settle into a comfortable but hardly routine path.
True to her word, Ro had stopped her subway explorations. It irked her a lot, but a promise was a promise. Roger had nursed a faint hope that he might tame her a little bit, but she had quickly set him straight on that notion.
Unable to search underground, Rowan had increased her treks to the wilderness. Her one concession (as Roger wryly called it) was agreeing to always drag Roger along with her. He didn't really mind too much though - the trips were always interesting, even if often uncomfortable. Besides how else was he to keep her safe despite herself? If this was what it took so be it. They both understood the need for compromise.
Rowan, on the other hand, kept a vigilent eye on Roger after his near-disasterous encounter with the Big. She remained quiet about her fears, not wanting to trigger another flashback.
As time passed, most of the subtle personality changes she had noticed in him had faded. Rowan began to believe they had been the result of shock and nothing more sinister. His physical changes remained, however. Although he had always been fast and strong, she could (in the past) sometimes best him when they would go to the gym and spar. This was no longer true. Rowan was now hopelessly outmatched by her partner. Roger was rather pleased by this, though. He was not above smirking in triumph when he would pin her to the mat.
Meanwhile, they completed their purchase of the dark mansion and hired Norman Berg to renovate it. He promised to have it entirely in move-in condition by their wedding day (which was fast approaching.)
Norman proved to be extremely efficient. The living quarters were soon in more than adequate shape, and the couple began to slowly move their belongings in. They began splitting their time between the new place and the old.
Rowan's office, lab, and greenhouse remained untouched for the moment. These would be the last things moved. As a result, Rowan would periodically spend some of her working time alone in her old apartment.
This particular morning started ordinarily enough. Ro's first task of the day was to go to the dressmaker and pick up her wedding gown. Roger had wanted to come along, but she had laughingly talked him out of it. "It's supposed to be bad luck," she teased.
Rowan's next stop was at her office. She let herself in and went straight to her file cabinets to catch up on more paperwork. She finished her negotiation casework quickly, and decided to go through her medical files next.
To her surprise the cabinet was unlocked. She didn't remember leaving it open, having long made it a habit to secure everything when she was done. Ro opened the drawer. Everything looked fine til she came to the "S" section. That had obviously been rifled through. In fact, one of the files had been misplaced. It was marked "Smith, R" but it belonged to a Richard Smith, an elderly patient she had treated a long time ago.
Rowan's heart began to pound...someone must have been looking for information on Roger, but who? and why? She ran into her lab. Research papers were scattered everywhere.
Daestar stood in shock for a moment, then sagged against a worktable, suddenly exhausted. She was glad that she had had the foresight to encrypt all of her records on Roger. No one would ever figure them out, even if they found them. Ro wondered if she should simply destroy everything...maybe they would be left alone then. At any rate, she wuld have to clean up this mess.
Her private phone rang as she was gathering up the files. Assuming it was Roger, she picked up the receiver and greeted the caller warmly. To her dismay, the voice on the other end was not Smith. It was Alex Rosewater.
"We need to talk, Dr. Daestar. There is a car outside for you," he said.
"Is this about your father, Mr. Rosewater?" Ro asked cautiously.
"Dr. Daestar," Alex said in his cool, calm way, "neither of us like to waste time. If you do not come voluntarily, I will send someone to get you. It is your choice." As he waited for her answer, Ro could picture him smiling in that hateful way of his. She sighed. "I'll be right down," she said and hung up. She then called home, hoping to reach either Roger or Norman, but no one answered.
A cream colored stretch limo was parked in front of the lobby entrance. A white-clad security guard bowed deeply and opened the car door for her. As he closed the door behind her, Rowan noticed there were no door or window handles in the compartment. She was separated from the chauffeur and the guard by a thick plate glass window as well. Knowing she was in real trouble, Daestar started pounding on the door, trying to break out the glass...a sweet scent began to fill the air. She started to feel groggy, and tried covering her mouth and nose but it was too late. Everything went black.
*****************************************
When Rowan came to, she found herself seated in a comfortable chair. She was in a huge office whose outer walls were entirely glass. She recognised the cityscape before her. Only Paradigm HQ commanded that view.
Cold grey light flooded the room, throwing into silhouette the massively tall man in front of her. She assumed he was a guard, since she couldn't see his face.
A large expensive-looking desk was next to her. On top of it was a small, beautifully made leather box, the type that held old-fashioned pens and ink bottles.
Rowan blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. The last thing she remembered was trying to get out of the limo. She still felt a little foggy.
"Ah, welcome back, Dr. Daestar." The familiar voice came from the tall man by the glass wall. It was Alex Rosewater. "Would you like something to drink? That gas does tend to parch throats."
She nodded, and a giant of a servant presented her with a crystal goblet brimming with fresh cold water. Rowan studied him - he was identical to both the limo-guard and the chauffeur, and to all the workers at Ilseberry as well.
Delicately, she sipped the liquid. As her mind cleared, she realized her forearm hurt. Rowan rolled up her sleeve and saw a small bandage on the inside of her elbow.
"What did you do to me?" she demanded. She tried to get up, but was overcome by dizziness nd stopped. She was slightly nauseous too. Ro forced herself to sip more water. She concentrated on controlling her breath, calming her nerves. She had to be fully alert...she was in the lion's den.
Rosewater approached her, leaned against the desk beside her. She could see him clearly now, brightly illuminated by the cold grey light.
"What did I do to you? Nothing, Dr. Daestar. We just took a blood sample to see what, if anything, Roger Smith has done to you. We simply wanted to know what bargaining chips we have before we open negotiations with you."
What Roger Smith had done to her? Bargaining chips? What the hell was Alex talking about? Carefully choosing her words, Rowan spoke: "As you said before, neither of us like to waste time. You are speaking in riddles, Mr. Rosewater. You have no right to invade my privacy or my body by taking blood without my permission. What is the reason for this outrage? I've done nothing to you."
Rosewater cocked his head at her. He smiled. His eyes actually twinkled, much like his father. "Ahh, but you ae quite wrong abut that, Dr. Daestar. You HAVE done something. You have interfered with a very important project, almost ruined it in fact. If nothing is done soon, it WILL be ruined and we shall have to scrap it entirely."
The young woman's green eyes widened in surprise. "If this is about the tomatoes, I told you that I'd share my specimens with you. All you had to do was ask..."
Alex chuckled. Rowan suddenly felt very afraid. She'd never heard him do that before...and how did Roger fit into all this anyway?
She soon found out.
Rosewater stood up, walked behind her chair and placed both of his massive hands on her shoulders. Rowan stiffened - Alex never touched anybody. His fingers tightened in the soft areas above her collarbones.
"Dr. Daestar, Roger Smith is the project." He began to massage the soft areas as he continued to talk: "He is the culmination of forty years of research and experimentation. There were so many false starts, so many dashed hopes...until Roger." Alex's strong fingers began to dig harder.
"He was perfect in every way. We did everything to ensure success, everything. There was only one mistake..." Rosewater's powerful hands dug deep into Rowan's shoulders. She fought not to pass out from the pain. Tears of agony rolled down hr face. Her arms went numb.
Abruptly he let go. He jerked the chair around, and leaned down so that their faces were inches apart.
"You interfered, Dr. Daestar. You corrupted our project somehow and you are going to have to make it right...or you will lose everythng." His face was as icy as his whispered words.
The young woman tool a deep breath. Her shoulders still throbbed from his bruising grasp. Focus, Rowan, ran through her mind - focus or all is lost...don't give in to the pain. Don't give in to that cold-hearted bastard. She pulled herself together. "You mentioned 'bargaining chips'" she muttered.
Alex raised his eyebrows in surprise. He stood up and straightened his snowy suit jacket. "I always liked that about you," he said. "Nothing ever distracts you from the negotiation at hand." He smiled slightly.
He's out of his mind, thought Rowan, and no one knows I'm here. She tried moving her arms - although the numbness was fading, they were still weak. It didn't matter anyway. She could never escape from Paradigm HQ on her own. She would have to play out Alex's game and hope to outwit him.
She smiled back at him. "Please continue, Mr. Rosewater," she said. Ro's face was calm, her voice professional.
Alex's smile widened. "Excellent," he said. "I'm so glad we can discuss this sensibly." He began to pace as he talked. "If Smith doesn't finish the process, the physical changes started that day will kill him. We estimate he may have another month until he dies from a delayed toxic reaction."
Ro felt the blood drain from her face. None of her lab work had picked this up. She remained silent, watching the tall man walk back and forth. He continued: "If Smith does complete it, he will become ours to command, as is his proper destiny as pilot of the Megadeus. Of course, he will forget his old life and leave it behind. A pilot cannot have such distractions and function properly."
He reached over to the elegant leather box on the desk and slid it in front of Rowan. He opened it and removed a glass vial full of an oily red liquid. He placed it in front of her. The fluid seemed to glow and move with a life of its own.
"You must inject Roger Smith with this. It will restart the procedure you somehow stopped, and bring it to completion. This must be done within the next two weeks or it will be too late to restart. If it isn't done he will die."
The young woman glanced at the bottle, then lifted her beautiful eyes towards Rosewater. "You are playing with me, Mr. Rosewater. Either way I lose Roger. This is no way to negotiate anything - what's in it for me?"
"I am so glad you asked. As I said before, we needed a blood sample from you to be sure." He paused, enjoying the moment.
"To be sure of what?" asked Rowan.
"To be sure of what Roger Smith has done." Alex chuckled again. "He has gotten you pregnant, Dr. Daestar"...(shock registered on her face)..."oh, it's too soon for you to have noticed, just a week, maybe two at most, according to my people...but you would know the timing better than they would, of course."
"Why should I believe you?" she sked, once he voice returned. She was always so careful! - Roger's physical changes were more far-reaching than she'd thought.
Alex shrugged. "Why should I lie? You can check for yourself easily enough."
Rowan was beginning to get a vague sense of deja vu. "What does this have to do with these negotiations?"
Alex suddenly became very serious. "If you do this," he touched the vial, "you get to keep the child as a souvenir of your little romance."
"And if I don't?" Her voice was flat.
His eyes glinted. "If you don't, we take the child too - and you have nothing left but your memories."
The waking nightmare of Alex coolly pulling out her heart flashed behind her eyes, flooding Ro with fear and anger. I will NOT be controlled, she thought, and seized upon her anger to smash the image. She would have smashed the real Alex too, if she could have gotten away with it.
She would find another way to thwart him...but first she had to get out with the drug, had to get back to her Roger. But how? She had to unsettle Alex, somehow, rattle him a little bit. That would give her the upper hand by making him feel a little unsure. Logic wouldn't work, neither would a plea for compassion. She would have to do the unpredictable.
She rubbed her hands together, the last tingling vestige of numbness finally leaving. She then stood up, stretching her arms and displaying her body. She sensuously glided her hands over her clothes to smooth the fabric. She glanced covertly at him and was pleased to see she had his attention. "Please excuse me," she said (smiling at Alex as if she hadn't a care in the world) "but I'm feeling a little stiff."
She moved gracefully to Rosewater, whose hand was still on top of the bottle. Rowan stood next to him, looking him full in the face (though he stood at least a head taller than her) in her most feline manner. She then placed her cool hand on top of his. She saw his eyes widen slightly in surprise, but he didn't move his hand. Ro silently laughed inside. She had found his weak point. No one ever touched him either, especially not like this.
"You know I can't agree to this immediately," she said, her accent sweet and seductive. Rowan applied the tiniest bit of pressure to his hand. She heard Rosewater's breath catch slightly. His free hand suddenly adjusted his tie. His face reddened slightly. So there IS some blood in there after all, Ro thought grimly. She smiled the crooked smile that had captivated Roger at the Policeman's Ball almost a year ago (she didn't know it, but even Angel would have been impressed.)
Alex was actually speechless for a moment, then found his voice. "Uh, I, um...I understand, it IS rather sudden..." As he fumbled for words, Ro lightly squeezed his hand.
"Why don't you let me take the bottle and think about this? That way we won't waste any time...I know how much you hate wasting time." She moved closer to the tall man, debated whether or not to touch him elsewhere, settled on another smile instead. A drop of sweat appeared on his temple.
Alex abruptly broke eye contact, but he still didn't move his hand from hers. He took a deep breath.
Ro stood absolutely still. She would wait forever if she had to, would do whatever was necessary to get the liquid without agreeing to final terms. A contract once agreed upon was binding under any circumstances. She would agree to nothing but contingency terms. Rowan watched the tall man carefully, searching for clues to his thoughts.
Alex straightened himself. He looked down at the beautiful young woman, smiled his thin little smile. "You're still the best negotiator in Paradigm," he said. He moved his hand from hers, replaced the glowing red vial in the leather box, and handed the whole thing to her.
"Perhaps my father was right about you after all...he always said you were a sensible girl at heart, unlike yur parents." He touched an intercom on the table and called for a limo to be brought. "You will do the right thing once you think it through, won't you?" He lightly placed his hand low on her stomach. "You have too much to lose otherwise." Ro wanted to spit in his face, but continued smiling instead.
"Send the emptied vial back with the the needle you use, and I'll know that you agreed to this contract," he continued. "Here is the courier to contact." He gave her a card with a phone number on it.
A secretary appeared, announcing that the car was waiting. "Til later, Dr. Daestar," Rosewater said, and bowed his head slightly. Rowan bowed her head in return, and followed the secretary out. She clutched the box tightly.
The cream colored limo dropped her off in front of her old apartment. Rowan ran to her car and carefully placed the leather box next to the garment bag holding her wedding gown. They were to be married in three weeks. If Rosewater was telling the truth, she would be a widow in under a month, regardless of which path was chosen...unless she found a third way. First though, she had to tell Roger. She started her car and headed back to to the dark mansion.
For Roger Smith and Rowan Daestar, life began to settle into a comfortable but hardly routine path.
True to her word, Ro had stopped her subway explorations. It irked her a lot, but a promise was a promise. Roger had nursed a faint hope that he might tame her a little bit, but she had quickly set him straight on that notion.
Unable to search underground, Rowan had increased her treks to the wilderness. Her one concession (as Roger wryly called it) was agreeing to always drag Roger along with her. He didn't really mind too much though - the trips were always interesting, even if often uncomfortable. Besides how else was he to keep her safe despite herself? If this was what it took so be it. They both understood the need for compromise.
Rowan, on the other hand, kept a vigilent eye on Roger after his near-disasterous encounter with the Big. She remained quiet about her fears, not wanting to trigger another flashback.
As time passed, most of the subtle personality changes she had noticed in him had faded. Rowan began to believe they had been the result of shock and nothing more sinister. His physical changes remained, however. Although he had always been fast and strong, she could (in the past) sometimes best him when they would go to the gym and spar. This was no longer true. Rowan was now hopelessly outmatched by her partner. Roger was rather pleased by this, though. He was not above smirking in triumph when he would pin her to the mat.
Meanwhile, they completed their purchase of the dark mansion and hired Norman Berg to renovate it. He promised to have it entirely in move-in condition by their wedding day (which was fast approaching.)
Norman proved to be extremely efficient. The living quarters were soon in more than adequate shape, and the couple began to slowly move their belongings in. They began splitting their time between the new place and the old.
Rowan's office, lab, and greenhouse remained untouched for the moment. These would be the last things moved. As a result, Rowan would periodically spend some of her working time alone in her old apartment.
This particular morning started ordinarily enough. Ro's first task of the day was to go to the dressmaker and pick up her wedding gown. Roger had wanted to come along, but she had laughingly talked him out of it. "It's supposed to be bad luck," she teased.
Rowan's next stop was at her office. She let herself in and went straight to her file cabinets to catch up on more paperwork. She finished her negotiation casework quickly, and decided to go through her medical files next.
To her surprise the cabinet was unlocked. She didn't remember leaving it open, having long made it a habit to secure everything when she was done. Ro opened the drawer. Everything looked fine til she came to the "S" section. That had obviously been rifled through. In fact, one of the files had been misplaced. It was marked "Smith, R" but it belonged to a Richard Smith, an elderly patient she had treated a long time ago.
Rowan's heart began to pound...someone must have been looking for information on Roger, but who? and why? She ran into her lab. Research papers were scattered everywhere.
Daestar stood in shock for a moment, then sagged against a worktable, suddenly exhausted. She was glad that she had had the foresight to encrypt all of her records on Roger. No one would ever figure them out, even if they found them. Ro wondered if she should simply destroy everything...maybe they would be left alone then. At any rate, she wuld have to clean up this mess.
Her private phone rang as she was gathering up the files. Assuming it was Roger, she picked up the receiver and greeted the caller warmly. To her dismay, the voice on the other end was not Smith. It was Alex Rosewater.
"We need to talk, Dr. Daestar. There is a car outside for you," he said.
"Is this about your father, Mr. Rosewater?" Ro asked cautiously.
"Dr. Daestar," Alex said in his cool, calm way, "neither of us like to waste time. If you do not come voluntarily, I will send someone to get you. It is your choice." As he waited for her answer, Ro could picture him smiling in that hateful way of his. She sighed. "I'll be right down," she said and hung up. She then called home, hoping to reach either Roger or Norman, but no one answered.
A cream colored stretch limo was parked in front of the lobby entrance. A white-clad security guard bowed deeply and opened the car door for her. As he closed the door behind her, Rowan noticed there were no door or window handles in the compartment. She was separated from the chauffeur and the guard by a thick plate glass window as well. Knowing she was in real trouble, Daestar started pounding on the door, trying to break out the glass...a sweet scent began to fill the air. She started to feel groggy, and tried covering her mouth and nose but it was too late. Everything went black.
*****************************************
When Rowan came to, she found herself seated in a comfortable chair. She was in a huge office whose outer walls were entirely glass. She recognised the cityscape before her. Only Paradigm HQ commanded that view.
Cold grey light flooded the room, throwing into silhouette the massively tall man in front of her. She assumed he was a guard, since she couldn't see his face.
A large expensive-looking desk was next to her. On top of it was a small, beautifully made leather box, the type that held old-fashioned pens and ink bottles.
Rowan blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. The last thing she remembered was trying to get out of the limo. She still felt a little foggy.
"Ah, welcome back, Dr. Daestar." The familiar voice came from the tall man by the glass wall. It was Alex Rosewater. "Would you like something to drink? That gas does tend to parch throats."
She nodded, and a giant of a servant presented her with a crystal goblet brimming with fresh cold water. Rowan studied him - he was identical to both the limo-guard and the chauffeur, and to all the workers at Ilseberry as well.
Delicately, she sipped the liquid. As her mind cleared, she realized her forearm hurt. Rowan rolled up her sleeve and saw a small bandage on the inside of her elbow.
"What did you do to me?" she demanded. She tried to get up, but was overcome by dizziness nd stopped. She was slightly nauseous too. Ro forced herself to sip more water. She concentrated on controlling her breath, calming her nerves. She had to be fully alert...she was in the lion's den.
Rosewater approached her, leaned against the desk beside her. She could see him clearly now, brightly illuminated by the cold grey light.
"What did I do to you? Nothing, Dr. Daestar. We just took a blood sample to see what, if anything, Roger Smith has done to you. We simply wanted to know what bargaining chips we have before we open negotiations with you."
What Roger Smith had done to her? Bargaining chips? What the hell was Alex talking about? Carefully choosing her words, Rowan spoke: "As you said before, neither of us like to waste time. You are speaking in riddles, Mr. Rosewater. You have no right to invade my privacy or my body by taking blood without my permission. What is the reason for this outrage? I've done nothing to you."
Rosewater cocked his head at her. He smiled. His eyes actually twinkled, much like his father. "Ahh, but you ae quite wrong abut that, Dr. Daestar. You HAVE done something. You have interfered with a very important project, almost ruined it in fact. If nothing is done soon, it WILL be ruined and we shall have to scrap it entirely."
The young woman's green eyes widened in surprise. "If this is about the tomatoes, I told you that I'd share my specimens with you. All you had to do was ask..."
Alex chuckled. Rowan suddenly felt very afraid. She'd never heard him do that before...and how did Roger fit into all this anyway?
She soon found out.
Rosewater stood up, walked behind her chair and placed both of his massive hands on her shoulders. Rowan stiffened - Alex never touched anybody. His fingers tightened in the soft areas above her collarbones.
"Dr. Daestar, Roger Smith is the project." He began to massage the soft areas as he continued to talk: "He is the culmination of forty years of research and experimentation. There were so many false starts, so many dashed hopes...until Roger." Alex's strong fingers began to dig harder.
"He was perfect in every way. We did everything to ensure success, everything. There was only one mistake..." Rosewater's powerful hands dug deep into Rowan's shoulders. She fought not to pass out from the pain. Tears of agony rolled down hr face. Her arms went numb.
Abruptly he let go. He jerked the chair around, and leaned down so that their faces were inches apart.
"You interfered, Dr. Daestar. You corrupted our project somehow and you are going to have to make it right...or you will lose everythng." His face was as icy as his whispered words.
The young woman tool a deep breath. Her shoulders still throbbed from his bruising grasp. Focus, Rowan, ran through her mind - focus or all is lost...don't give in to the pain. Don't give in to that cold-hearted bastard. She pulled herself together. "You mentioned 'bargaining chips'" she muttered.
Alex raised his eyebrows in surprise. He stood up and straightened his snowy suit jacket. "I always liked that about you," he said. "Nothing ever distracts you from the negotiation at hand." He smiled slightly.
He's out of his mind, thought Rowan, and no one knows I'm here. She tried moving her arms - although the numbness was fading, they were still weak. It didn't matter anyway. She could never escape from Paradigm HQ on her own. She would have to play out Alex's game and hope to outwit him.
She smiled back at him. "Please continue, Mr. Rosewater," she said. Ro's face was calm, her voice professional.
Alex's smile widened. "Excellent," he said. "I'm so glad we can discuss this sensibly." He began to pace as he talked. "If Smith doesn't finish the process, the physical changes started that day will kill him. We estimate he may have another month until he dies from a delayed toxic reaction."
Ro felt the blood drain from her face. None of her lab work had picked this up. She remained silent, watching the tall man walk back and forth. He continued: "If Smith does complete it, he will become ours to command, as is his proper destiny as pilot of the Megadeus. Of course, he will forget his old life and leave it behind. A pilot cannot have such distractions and function properly."
He reached over to the elegant leather box on the desk and slid it in front of Rowan. He opened it and removed a glass vial full of an oily red liquid. He placed it in front of her. The fluid seemed to glow and move with a life of its own.
"You must inject Roger Smith with this. It will restart the procedure you somehow stopped, and bring it to completion. This must be done within the next two weeks or it will be too late to restart. If it isn't done he will die."
The young woman glanced at the bottle, then lifted her beautiful eyes towards Rosewater. "You are playing with me, Mr. Rosewater. Either way I lose Roger. This is no way to negotiate anything - what's in it for me?"
"I am so glad you asked. As I said before, we needed a blood sample from you to be sure." He paused, enjoying the moment.
"To be sure of what?" asked Rowan.
"To be sure of what Roger Smith has done." Alex chuckled again. "He has gotten you pregnant, Dr. Daestar"...(shock registered on her face)..."oh, it's too soon for you to have noticed, just a week, maybe two at most, according to my people...but you would know the timing better than they would, of course."
"Why should I believe you?" she sked, once he voice returned. She was always so careful! - Roger's physical changes were more far-reaching than she'd thought.
Alex shrugged. "Why should I lie? You can check for yourself easily enough."
Rowan was beginning to get a vague sense of deja vu. "What does this have to do with these negotiations?"
Alex suddenly became very serious. "If you do this," he touched the vial, "you get to keep the child as a souvenir of your little romance."
"And if I don't?" Her voice was flat.
His eyes glinted. "If you don't, we take the child too - and you have nothing left but your memories."
The waking nightmare of Alex coolly pulling out her heart flashed behind her eyes, flooding Ro with fear and anger. I will NOT be controlled, she thought, and seized upon her anger to smash the image. She would have smashed the real Alex too, if she could have gotten away with it.
She would find another way to thwart him...but first she had to get out with the drug, had to get back to her Roger. But how? She had to unsettle Alex, somehow, rattle him a little bit. That would give her the upper hand by making him feel a little unsure. Logic wouldn't work, neither would a plea for compassion. She would have to do the unpredictable.
She rubbed her hands together, the last tingling vestige of numbness finally leaving. She then stood up, stretching her arms and displaying her body. She sensuously glided her hands over her clothes to smooth the fabric. She glanced covertly at him and was pleased to see she had his attention. "Please excuse me," she said (smiling at Alex as if she hadn't a care in the world) "but I'm feeling a little stiff."
She moved gracefully to Rosewater, whose hand was still on top of the bottle. Rowan stood next to him, looking him full in the face (though he stood at least a head taller than her) in her most feline manner. She then placed her cool hand on top of his. She saw his eyes widen slightly in surprise, but he didn't move his hand. Ro silently laughed inside. She had found his weak point. No one ever touched him either, especially not like this.
"You know I can't agree to this immediately," she said, her accent sweet and seductive. Rowan applied the tiniest bit of pressure to his hand. She heard Rosewater's breath catch slightly. His free hand suddenly adjusted his tie. His face reddened slightly. So there IS some blood in there after all, Ro thought grimly. She smiled the crooked smile that had captivated Roger at the Policeman's Ball almost a year ago (she didn't know it, but even Angel would have been impressed.)
Alex was actually speechless for a moment, then found his voice. "Uh, I, um...I understand, it IS rather sudden..." As he fumbled for words, Ro lightly squeezed his hand.
"Why don't you let me take the bottle and think about this? That way we won't waste any time...I know how much you hate wasting time." She moved closer to the tall man, debated whether or not to touch him elsewhere, settled on another smile instead. A drop of sweat appeared on his temple.
Alex abruptly broke eye contact, but he still didn't move his hand from hers. He took a deep breath.
Ro stood absolutely still. She would wait forever if she had to, would do whatever was necessary to get the liquid without agreeing to final terms. A contract once agreed upon was binding under any circumstances. She would agree to nothing but contingency terms. Rowan watched the tall man carefully, searching for clues to his thoughts.
Alex straightened himself. He looked down at the beautiful young woman, smiled his thin little smile. "You're still the best negotiator in Paradigm," he said. He moved his hand from hers, replaced the glowing red vial in the leather box, and handed the whole thing to her.
"Perhaps my father was right about you after all...he always said you were a sensible girl at heart, unlike yur parents." He touched an intercom on the table and called for a limo to be brought. "You will do the right thing once you think it through, won't you?" He lightly placed his hand low on her stomach. "You have too much to lose otherwise." Ro wanted to spit in his face, but continued smiling instead.
"Send the emptied vial back with the the needle you use, and I'll know that you agreed to this contract," he continued. "Here is the courier to contact." He gave her a card with a phone number on it.
A secretary appeared, announcing that the car was waiting. "Til later, Dr. Daestar," Rosewater said, and bowed his head slightly. Rowan bowed her head in return, and followed the secretary out. She clutched the box tightly.
The cream colored limo dropped her off in front of her old apartment. Rowan ran to her car and carefully placed the leather box next to the garment bag holding her wedding gown. They were to be married in three weeks. If Rosewater was telling the truth, she would be a widow in under a month, regardless of which path was chosen...unless she found a third way. First though, she had to tell Roger. She started her car and headed back to to the dark mansion.