AN: Sorry for the super late post. Document mangager was acting screwy all day. I tried like, a dozen times to gain access...ah, well. C'est la vie. Hope you enjoy this chapter...
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Chapter 22

The next morning, Shalimar was, predictably, clucking like a mother hen and hissing like a wild cat when she found out what Jesse had done. She called Katie, who was in a meeting with the board of Kilmartin Enterprises, and let him know what he had done. Katie was grateful that the procedure was a success, but gave her brother a good chewing out over the phone. Although Shalimar was grateful that Brennan would now be around for more than two and a half months, she was upset with Jesse for not waiting until they were sure he was fine.

For her part, Lexa was also upset about Jesse's actions, but, as she felt Shalimar was doing such a good job of chewing Jesse out, she limited her reprimand to a stern look.

By the end of the morning, Shalimar had firmly notified Jesse that he wasn't to even try to heal her for at least two days. Jesse had argued, but eventually relented. He was keenly aware that Shalimar's expiry date was much farther away than any of the others'. Two more days out of 5 ½ years would not be as much as a problem as 1 day had been to Brennan's 79 days left. Shalimar then spoke with Lexa, and had her activate the security grids around her room. She was not taking any chances of Jesse getting anywhere near her in the next two days.

Later in the afternoon, Lexa found a suitable punishment for Jesse. She made him set up and move into his own room. However, Jesse turned the tables on her. He kept asking her opinion about decoration and furniture placement. When she had asked finally asked why in hell he was asking her, he had replied. "Because you'll probably spend just as much time in here as I will." He had continued with the innuendos the entire time they were working, which frustrated her because she couldn't seem to control the blushes that flushed her cheeks each time. Jesse, on the other hand, delighted in them. He loved knowing that he had that effect on her. In fact, he just plain loved her.

They had been working for almost an hour when Shalimar knocked on the door. Coming in, she said to Lexa, "That program you made finished analyzing the disc. It's a list of public purchases the Dominion's made in the last few months."

"I'll be right there." Lexa put down the stack of books she was moving, which included the well-worn copy of Sophie's World from Jesse's room in the mansion. Then she strolled out the door, Jesse close behind her.

Brennan was waiting for them at the computer. "Hey guys," he said. "This list is pretty much a hodgepodge of different stuff."

Lexa leaned in to look at the list. "Hmm. From what I can tell, the reason they had to buy all this stuff publicly is because they couldn't get it privately. Look here – 30 multispectrum particle analyzers. Those aren't exactly mass-produced. Even if you buy it from a private company, that much of one thing is sure to send up some red flags. This guy Jake must have noticed things like this when the orders were run through the system. Then he made a list and got a copy to Kellogg."

Shalimar folded her arms across her chest. "If purchases like these are so rare, the guy who sold them must remember something about the buyer."

Lexa nodded. "I agree. The company that makes the analyzers is in the Palmyra suburb. That's only a few miles outside Philly. I can be there in 20 minutes."

"I'll go with you. I feel like going out. Plus, I can't let Jesse anywhere near me for another day and a half."

A computer in the corner of the room sounded, indicating an incoming call. Brennan went to check it out.

"Sounds good," Lexa said. She and Shalimar headed for the garage. "Do you want to play good cop, bad cop?"

"Sure, but I had to be good cop last time. It's your turn."

"Good luck, you guys," Brennan said as he returned. "That was Katie. The electrical system in the office shorted out. She said she called here because she knew I was closer than a repairman. I'm going to go check it out. Nice to know she's fitting in. Already asking for favors," he joked, jogging up the few steps that connected the computer lab area to the rest of the main room.

Jesse watched Brennan leave. He frowned and put his hands on his hips. "Now what am I supposed to do," he muttered to no one in particular. He couldn't do anymore medical research without Adam's help, and Shalimar and Lexa were following up on the only clue they had to Adam's whereabouts. A few seconds later, he shrugged. There was nothing he could do until Shalimar and Lexa came back. But he could go work off some of his nervous energy in the dojo. There were no holograms yet, but he felt he could do just fine against a punching bag and a martial arts block. The decision made, he went up to his room to change into some workout gear.
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Lexa parked the car at a grocery store two blocks from the plant, which was located on a pier on the edge of the Delaware River. Shalimar halted Lexa fifty feet from the building. "Hold up. Something's not right."

Lexa was instantly on alert. She had come to trust Shalimar's feral instincts. Opening her own senses, she realized what was wrong. "The air conditioners aren't on."

Shalimar looked at her quizzically.

Lexa explained. "It's a computer production facility. The dossier said that it's also a server location. There are tons of computers in there, which generates a lot of heat. The computers all have to be kept cool, otherwise they stop functioning properly. No air conditioning means something's wrong inside."

Shalimar considered this. "That may be it, but something tells me there's something else going on here. We'll have to be careful."

Lexa agreed and they moved cautiously into the building. They moved through the hallways, stopping once to get directions from an office directory on the wall. Moving down the hallway on the third floor, Shalimar slowed, sniffing the air, her eyes flashing yellow. "Someone in here's not alive anymore. I smell death. More than one, actually. And I smell burnt things."

Holding a hand up to indicate to Shalimar that she was ready to fire a laser at anything that moved, Lexa opened the door to the office of one Peter Sandovar. The man's name had been listed as supervisor for the purchase the Dominion had made. Peering around the corner, Lexa relaxed her stance. "Looks like we won't get to play good cop, bad cop. Sandovar's dead." She motioned to the nametag that the man was wearing on his lab coat. She bent down to check the man's pulse just in case he was still alive. However, it was pretty clear from the hole in his chest that he was dead.

"Look." Shalimar motioned through another door into a long room on the other side.

Lexa looked around the corner of the doorframe. "It looks like they won't be any help either."

The two women walked down the center aisle of the room, glancing at the dozen or so bodies strewn around the room. Each one had gaping holes in their chests or backs.

"They were massacred. Do you think the Dominion did this?"

"They're the only ones I can think of that would do something like this. Plus this damage was done with Dominion laser rifles. I can tell by the scorch marks on the wall."

Shalimar stepped over the body of a female employee to get a look at the poor woman's station. "Says here that there was a short in a circuit mainframe that caused the air conditioning to shut down."

Lexa came over to look at the computer. "There's more than that. Production was actually accelerated after the air conditioning went out, also the result of a short. That's too much of a coincidence."

"If production increases, the computers will be running hot, right."

"Yeah, that's why it doesn't make sense to do it when the air conditioning…," Lexa's voice faded. "Damn it. It'll cause an overload and the place will explode. Come on, we gotta go!" Lexa sprinted after the room, moving almost at the same time Shalimar did.

"Any records the authorities uncover will make it look like an accident," she shouted as they ran down the hall. "They plan to make the place blow itself; the murders were just to make sure all the scientists died in the explosion, just in case they knew anything."

They came to a corner. Lexa automatically turned right to go out the way they had come. Shalimar stopped her, grabbing her arm and pulling her the other direction. A klaxon in the hallway suddenly blared and a flashing red light pulsed in the hallway. "No, this way. Fire escape's faster."

As soon as she saw the emergency exit, Lexa shot a wide laser ahead of them, effectively blowing out the door to the balcony that opened up to the fire escape. They were able to pass through the doorway quickly, not having to worry about slowing down for locks or doors. They dashed down the three flights of stairs. Shalimar jumped off the last one, landing nimbly on her feet. Lexa ran the rest of the way down, jumping quickly off the descending, spring-loaded ladder even before it hit the ground. They dashed down the pier, reaching the road just as the building exploded, sending shards of the wood and metal structure flying their way.

AN: Well, another cliffhanger. I've found that I've become rather fond of them. As far as the story is concerned, I generally write about four chapters ahead, but edit each chapter before I post to check for inconsistancies...and I find them...sigh ;-) I've begun writing the climax of the story and I'm already getting story withdrawl. tear ;-)