Chapter 8 --- Consequences Could Be Dire
In many ways Jake Foley is the happiest man on earth. His wife and best friend Diane, whom he is madly in love with, is six months pregnant with their first child. He has his dream job of being a secret agent and he is enhanced with nanites that give him "powers beyond that of mortal man."
In many ways Jake Foley is the angriest man on earth. His wife and best friend Diane, whom he is madly in love with, has accidentally been enhanced with nanites. This means that she is under threat not only from foreign governments and private industry, but from his own government via his own agency – the NSA.
He has accepted that he is destined to be eventually trapped in a lab because of the highly classified nature of the nanotechnology. His only hope for a normal life lay with the scientists studying the nanotechnology and their efforts to remove the nanites from his body; the top scientist in the field is Dr. Diane Hughes-Foley, his wife. He will not accept his fate for her, or their child.
While it has been determined that the fetus is nanite free, it is believed that the nanites will rush to it's aid if any trauma or distress occurs. There have already been two attempts to cause injury to Diane: The first occurred in the NSA parking garage when a car "slipped" its parking brake and hurled silently towards Diane. Fortunately Fran pulled her out of the way before the car reached her. The second was an apparent mugging outside of a Georgetown dress shop. This attempt was foiled by the arrival of a pepper spray wielding Sarah Carter; Jake's old flame and Diane's new best friend.
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Jake lay in bed looking at his sleeping wife, "You are beautiful." He said softly.
"I'm fat." She replied to his astonishment.
"I didn't mean to wake you. How about breakfast in bed?"
"You think I'm too fat to get out of bed?"
"Of course not…"
"You think I'm disgusting!"
"Sweetheart, you're beautiful. I'm going to make breakfast, if you're in there when I'm through fine, otherwise I'll bring it to you." With this Jake flees the bedroom.
First he stops for a quick shower in the hall bath, always a help after one of Diane's 'moods'. Last night she had been very, well, sexual; remembering this gives him a smile. Toast, eggs, strawberries and milk; she really misses her coffee.
When he comes back into the house from getting the paper and a rose from their garden, Diane is sitting at the table.
"I'm sorry Jake."
"It's ok Babe." Jake replies coolly.
"I'm really sorry. I love you."
"I know Diane. I love you too. It's just… after last night… well, it hurt, what you said this morning. I think you are so beautiful."
"Jake…"
"No, I'm serious. You are carrying my child. You, who agreed to marry me. You, who became my best friend, you, who took care of me. You, who healed me, I've always thought you were pretty, even when all I knew about you was that you worked in the NSA building."
"You had seen me before the lab accident?"
Jake nods.
"You never told me that."
"Nobody ever notices the IT guys."
"Oh, I had seen you. You always hung out with that creepy friend of yours."
"Darrin's not that bad."
"Jake, he uses his NSA ID to score with 'chicks'."
"He doesn't actually score, often. I think it worked once."
"Well he tries, which is the point. Is he still in Iceland?"
"This year it Antarctica."
"Send his some thermals and a Boggle game."
"Boggle?"
"Men who lose at Boggle are irresistible."
"So that's how I won you?"
"That and your smile."
"My smile?"
"It's honest and so are you."
"You're pretty when you grovel."
"I'm fat."
"You're pregnant, Aunt Mertle is fat."
"Don't pick on your Aunt Mertle!"
"I don't have an Aunt Mertle. I thought she was your aunt?"
"Not mine. You met all of mine the Thanksgiving before you proposed. I met her at our reception."
"Me too. I'll get Kyle to check her out today."
"I thought you had today off?"
"I do, but I'll need to take her picture in."
"It's waited this long, it'll wait until Monday, I want my long weekend. Where would you get her picture anyway?"
"Our Wedding Album."
"Oh." A dejected Diane says. "Good news, our baby's got my brains."
"Good. How do you know?"
"It's the only way to explain where mine are."
"Diane…"
"I know, I know. No insulting your wife in your presence."
"Consequences could be dire."
"Very funny stud."
"So it's stud now?"
"Only if you serve me breakfast in bed."
"Coming right up."
"I hope so. And don't forget the whipped cream."
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Next: "Aliens", kinks and 'the way that I am'
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