Chapter Seven
Lex sat huddled in the far corner of the bunk, her chin resting on her bent knees, plotting out various forms of revenge for when she was back home. All of them were centered around Nate.
She'd taken an instant dislike to him when he'd joined Luther's gang a couple of years ago. Besides being extremely arrogant, cocky and most of the time downright rude, he had one character flaw Lex loathed. He was self-centred.
Most of the group helped each other out occasionally, kind of a 'scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' deal. But not Nate. Everything he did, he did for himself. Just like he had done earlier, leaving Lex to her fate.
Not that he was totally to blame. If she hadn't of panicked, she'd have run for the door, not the table. Next time she'd listen to her gut. Ever since she'd learned of her latest job, she'd been leery, sure something would go wrong. Turns out, she was right.
Lex tensed when she heard footsteps and voices outside her door. Hopefully it was only shift change, but the way her luck seemed to be going, it would be the captain again, back to bug her some more.
When the door swung inwards, Lex moaned and buried her face in her knees. She listened to the footsteps crossing the room, refusing to look up.
"Uh ... hi," said a voice in front of her. A young voice, Lex thought, popping open one eye and spying a pair of sneakers. Sneakers?! What was someone doing wearing sneakers here? So far, all she'd seen were military issue boots. Curiosity got the best of her, and she lifted her gaze and met the most intriguing eyes she'd ever seen.
Electric blue was the only way she could describe them. They seemed alive, sparkling with intelligence and the tiniest hint of mischief. They were mesmerizing.
Lex forced her eyes to examine the rest of him. High cheekbones, a long, angular face narrowing down to a sharply pointed chin with just a hint of a cleft. Golden blond hair was cut short and absently brushed away from his face.
His neck was long, shoulders wide, and she guessed him to be about five-eight in height. Baggy t-shirts and jeans hung on his thin frame, which at the moment was shifting uncomfortably under her close scrutiny.
"I brought you these," the boy said, thrusting dry clothes at her awkwardly. "At least they're dry."
Lex stared at him for a moment before taking the clothes. "Thank you," she said coldly.
The boy grinned, jamming his now empty hands into the pockets of his voluminous jeans, and began to rock on the balls of his feet.
Lex watched him, one eyebrow raising slowly. "You planning on watching me strip and change?"
A deep red flush raced up his cheeks as he sputtered. "Oh ...ah ... I'll ... just ... wait outside." That said, he bolted toward the door, tripping on the step and almost ramming face first into the heavy metal.
"Cute and klutzy," Lex muttered with a faint grin. "Bad combination."
Checking to make sure a pair of blue eyes weren't peeking through the small window, she quickly peeled off her catsuit, which was wet from mid- thigh down, and pulled on the UEO jumpsuit. It was a little big for her tastes, but dry. Just as she was pulling on the black boots, the door opened a crack.
"Can I come in?" the boy asked.
"I don't know, can you?"
A blond head popped around the door. "I meant, are you dressed."
"Obviously," Lex pointed to the jumpsuit.
"Oh ... right," he mumbled, coming into the small room. Once again he fell silent. Lex leaned back against the wall, her head tilted to one side. He was nervous, she realized with a start. Interesting.
"Something I can help you with?" she asked dryly.
His head snapped up, blue eyes wide. "Oh! Yeah ... um ... I'm Lucas. I'm here to show you around the boat."
"No handcuffs or leg irons?"
"What?" he frowned.
"Aren't you or the good captain afraid I might get away?"
"We're on a submarine. Where could you go?"
Lex couldn't hide her grin. "Good point."
Lucas returned the smile. "Let's go."
He waited for her at the door, motioning for her to go ahead. This time, he stepped cautiously up the stairs. Once in the hallway, he turned out to be a talkative guide.
"SeaQuest is a thousand feet long, has over two hundred people on board, both military and science related. It uses closed-system nuclear fusion to run its twin turbines and runs off Tritium, which it extracts from the seawater. The outer shell is actually a 'skin', a living oxygen feeding organism that can heal itself."
"Oh," was the only reply Lex could think of. Her mind was spinning from all the information he'd thrown at her so enthusiastically.
Lucas's head spun around to look at her, then he gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry. I kinda get excited about this stuff."
Lex looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Really? I hadn't noticed."
Lucas just laughed as he opened a door. "This is the main research lab."
Lex followed him in slowly, examining the large array of expensive equipment.
"Ah, there you are!"
Lex swung around to find the doctor bearing down on them, smiling widely. Lex's distrust in adults kicked into high gear, causing her to tense up.
"Lucas had been showing you around SeaQuest. What do you think so far?"
"It's big," Lex replied coldly. Beside her, Lucas frowned at her frosty attitude. The doctor continued, unfazed.
"We've been working on an experiment to desalinate seawater using sea sponges. They're natural filters for the oceans. Would you like to see?"
"Not really. I don't do science." Lex shrugged, feigning boredom.
"That's too bad. It's really quite exciting," the doctor replied with a smile. Her eyebrows rose when Lex remained silent. "Lucas, why don't you introduce her to Darwin? I think Lex might find that a little more interesting."
"Sure," he answered, confused by Lex's sudden change in demeanor.
"I'll see you later," the doctor nodded, returning to her work. Lucas led the way back into the hallway. He was quiet for a while before he finally spoke.
"What happened back there?"
"What?"
"You weren't very friendly to Doctor Westphalen."
Lex shrugged. "I'm not a very friendly person."
"You are with me."
Realizing he was right, but not wanting to admit it, Lex said nothing.
Watching her closely, Lucas wisely chose to not press the issue. He stopped at a large door, jabbing in a code with long fingers. Once the doors had whooshed open, he strode inside.
Lex remained in the doorway, frozen in fear.
Lex sat huddled in the far corner of the bunk, her chin resting on her bent knees, plotting out various forms of revenge for when she was back home. All of them were centered around Nate.
She'd taken an instant dislike to him when he'd joined Luther's gang a couple of years ago. Besides being extremely arrogant, cocky and most of the time downright rude, he had one character flaw Lex loathed. He was self-centred.
Most of the group helped each other out occasionally, kind of a 'scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' deal. But not Nate. Everything he did, he did for himself. Just like he had done earlier, leaving Lex to her fate.
Not that he was totally to blame. If she hadn't of panicked, she'd have run for the door, not the table. Next time she'd listen to her gut. Ever since she'd learned of her latest job, she'd been leery, sure something would go wrong. Turns out, she was right.
Lex tensed when she heard footsteps and voices outside her door. Hopefully it was only shift change, but the way her luck seemed to be going, it would be the captain again, back to bug her some more.
When the door swung inwards, Lex moaned and buried her face in her knees. She listened to the footsteps crossing the room, refusing to look up.
"Uh ... hi," said a voice in front of her. A young voice, Lex thought, popping open one eye and spying a pair of sneakers. Sneakers?! What was someone doing wearing sneakers here? So far, all she'd seen were military issue boots. Curiosity got the best of her, and she lifted her gaze and met the most intriguing eyes she'd ever seen.
Electric blue was the only way she could describe them. They seemed alive, sparkling with intelligence and the tiniest hint of mischief. They were mesmerizing.
Lex forced her eyes to examine the rest of him. High cheekbones, a long, angular face narrowing down to a sharply pointed chin with just a hint of a cleft. Golden blond hair was cut short and absently brushed away from his face.
His neck was long, shoulders wide, and she guessed him to be about five-eight in height. Baggy t-shirts and jeans hung on his thin frame, which at the moment was shifting uncomfortably under her close scrutiny.
"I brought you these," the boy said, thrusting dry clothes at her awkwardly. "At least they're dry."
Lex stared at him for a moment before taking the clothes. "Thank you," she said coldly.
The boy grinned, jamming his now empty hands into the pockets of his voluminous jeans, and began to rock on the balls of his feet.
Lex watched him, one eyebrow raising slowly. "You planning on watching me strip and change?"
A deep red flush raced up his cheeks as he sputtered. "Oh ...ah ... I'll ... just ... wait outside." That said, he bolted toward the door, tripping on the step and almost ramming face first into the heavy metal.
"Cute and klutzy," Lex muttered with a faint grin. "Bad combination."
Checking to make sure a pair of blue eyes weren't peeking through the small window, she quickly peeled off her catsuit, which was wet from mid- thigh down, and pulled on the UEO jumpsuit. It was a little big for her tastes, but dry. Just as she was pulling on the black boots, the door opened a crack.
"Can I come in?" the boy asked.
"I don't know, can you?"
A blond head popped around the door. "I meant, are you dressed."
"Obviously," Lex pointed to the jumpsuit.
"Oh ... right," he mumbled, coming into the small room. Once again he fell silent. Lex leaned back against the wall, her head tilted to one side. He was nervous, she realized with a start. Interesting.
"Something I can help you with?" she asked dryly.
His head snapped up, blue eyes wide. "Oh! Yeah ... um ... I'm Lucas. I'm here to show you around the boat."
"No handcuffs or leg irons?"
"What?" he frowned.
"Aren't you or the good captain afraid I might get away?"
"We're on a submarine. Where could you go?"
Lex couldn't hide her grin. "Good point."
Lucas returned the smile. "Let's go."
He waited for her at the door, motioning for her to go ahead. This time, he stepped cautiously up the stairs. Once in the hallway, he turned out to be a talkative guide.
"SeaQuest is a thousand feet long, has over two hundred people on board, both military and science related. It uses closed-system nuclear fusion to run its twin turbines and runs off Tritium, which it extracts from the seawater. The outer shell is actually a 'skin', a living oxygen feeding organism that can heal itself."
"Oh," was the only reply Lex could think of. Her mind was spinning from all the information he'd thrown at her so enthusiastically.
Lucas's head spun around to look at her, then he gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry. I kinda get excited about this stuff."
Lex looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Really? I hadn't noticed."
Lucas just laughed as he opened a door. "This is the main research lab."
Lex followed him in slowly, examining the large array of expensive equipment.
"Ah, there you are!"
Lex swung around to find the doctor bearing down on them, smiling widely. Lex's distrust in adults kicked into high gear, causing her to tense up.
"Lucas had been showing you around SeaQuest. What do you think so far?"
"It's big," Lex replied coldly. Beside her, Lucas frowned at her frosty attitude. The doctor continued, unfazed.
"We've been working on an experiment to desalinate seawater using sea sponges. They're natural filters for the oceans. Would you like to see?"
"Not really. I don't do science." Lex shrugged, feigning boredom.
"That's too bad. It's really quite exciting," the doctor replied with a smile. Her eyebrows rose when Lex remained silent. "Lucas, why don't you introduce her to Darwin? I think Lex might find that a little more interesting."
"Sure," he answered, confused by Lex's sudden change in demeanor.
"I'll see you later," the doctor nodded, returning to her work. Lucas led the way back into the hallway. He was quiet for a while before he finally spoke.
"What happened back there?"
"What?"
"You weren't very friendly to Doctor Westphalen."
Lex shrugged. "I'm not a very friendly person."
"You are with me."
Realizing he was right, but not wanting to admit it, Lex said nothing.
Watching her closely, Lucas wisely chose to not press the issue. He stopped at a large door, jabbing in a code with long fingers. Once the doors had whooshed open, he strode inside.
Lex remained in the doorway, frozen in fear.