Chapter 14

When she entered his room, he was seated at his desk with a belt tied around his arm as a tourniquet, taking a sample of his own blood. The desk lamp was angled down, illuminating his arm and torso, and Mara watched for a moment as he removed the syringe and set it on his desk.

"Hello," he said quietly, removing the belt and shaking out his arm. "You're early."

"If you're early, you're on time; if you're on time, you're late," she said, familiar with his affinity for literary and cultural references.

He stopped what he was doing to look up at her momentarily and smile.

"What did you have in mind for this evening?" she asked, tossing her jacket on his bed.

"Well," he began, standing from his desk and picking up several folders. "I'd like to show you what I've been working on."

The fact that he hadn't already done so told her it was one of those things he wasn't supposed to be sharing.

"Something tells me you're not supposed to," she said lightheartedly.

"Well… depending on your definition of 'wrong,' I've done several things in the last few days that I shouldn't have," he said with a coy smile.

"Why, Khan, are you making an indecent joke?" she asked, taking a step forward and laying a hand on his chest.

He took in a long, deep breath, looking down on her and admiring. She had never felt as special or as unique as when Khan looked at her. For some reason, having the admiration of one of the world's most superior human beings just made it… better.

"I'll leave you to your own conclusion," he said, pushing her hand away and bringing his between them. "I've been meaning to give you this."

As she looked down, she found a key card in his hand; one marked "Henry Pierce, Chief Director of Science Operations." Mara furrowed her brows, looking up at him.

"Just in case," he said in response to the unasked question. He dropped the subject as abruptly as he had brought it up, and raised the folders between them.

She took them, staring at him through her eyebrows for a moment as she sauntered to the bed to sit, slipping Pierce's key card in her back pocket. As she opened the first folder, she was met with both confusion and curiosity.

They were his sketches, a great many of them. Most were futuristic and strange-looking weapons, others were some sort of schematic.

"What…" she began, studying one of the weapons. Khan sat next to her, watching her as she studied the drawings.

"A 'phaser' gun," he said, taking the sketch. "If the technology holds, it will kill without a projectile, eliminating the need for ammunition. It will also have the ability to stun; to do exactly what Jonathan Harris's Taser did to me, but without the cords or electricity," he said simply, pointing to a key and labeled 'parts' section.

Most of the details were lost on her, but the design seemed sound. Through some sort of new-age projectile-less energy bullet, the gun would target nerves and synapses in the human nervous system, incapacitating it with little to no brain or bodily damage.

She flipped to the next page—a long-range missile of some kind.

"This one will take some extra planning," he said, pointing to more maps and keys. "Many subjects will need to be injected with the serum pre-launch, or it will do nothing. But, once injected, the victims will be the only targets. The missile will detonate, releasing a shock-wave of a very specific frequency—one that causes a reaction in this serum I have concocted. It will cause anemia in the injected, making it a silent but very accurate killer."

Mara's heart sank, and her hands dropped to her lap as she looked sideways at him.

"I thought your mission was to create peace," she asked in a whisper, her face inches from his.

"It is," he replied softly, looking down at the sketches. "Battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won."

"Another of your quotes?" she asked with a smile.

"Walt Whitman," he said in response, obviously happy she had pegged it as such. "This is what I have been assigned to do via Director Pierce…." He paused, and something in his eyes looked conflicted. "How can one lead a world at peace without first ending all wars?"

Mara let out a stressed, tight-lipped breath. "This… this is… terrifying," she said honestly.

"I agree," he replied, taking the folders and tossing them to the floor. "But I wanted you to know what he's had me do…"

It sounded like there was more to the statement. As if he were going to say, "I wanted you to know before I…"

But he did not continue. His face changed—turning emotionless and hard. He leaned into her, forcing her back and crawling on top of her. One hand reached around her neck, holding her vice-tight as he leaned in to kiss her. Where his kiss was usually gentle and slow, he seemed anxious and hungry. His grip on her neck felt dangerous and rushed.

"Khan, are you okay?" she asked against his lips, pulling back against the pillow and looking at him.

He turned his face away so she couldn't look him in the eyes. "Fine," he said quickly, and it was obvious he was making an effort to change his attitude. His body relaxed, and his grip loosened.

"Just… restless, is all," he said, turning back to her. The danger in his expression was gone, but something told her the danger wasn't. He was simply a master of masks.

She reached up slowly, resting both hands gently on either side of his jaw. "What is it, Khan?" she whispered softly. "What's wrong?"

He stared at her for a long time, his body hovering over hers. She felt safe there, like nothing in the world could get to her through him.

"Do you believe that I'm capable of love?" he asked, staring her in the eyes to gauge her true reaction.

She thought for only a moment. "Yes," she said, one hand curling through his hair. While it was obvious he was trying not to, he leaned into her, his eyes blinking slower than usual as he reveled in her touch.

"Do you believe I have a soul?" he asked.

"How dare you," she whispered, pulling him down and kissing him. "How dare you ask that. Of course you have a soul. You are a human being. You feel, you act, you…"

She lost her reasoning as she realized he was trembling, his face obviously trying to conceal some deep-seeded anxiety over the matter.

She raised a leg, using it as leverage as she flipped him over on the bed, switching positions and straddling him. She let her whole body rest on him as she kissed him long and slow.

"You are the most 'human' man in this entire damn facility," she said, gripping his hair tightly and pulling him in for a kiss.

It was as if he didn't believe her—the way he kissed her back. Like the only way he would be convinced was if she forced him.

Which was fine with her.