Chapter 2

Billy was having a great day. Ever since Knight Industries had left the government behind, there was nobody to constantly watch over his shoulder as he worked. His imagination now knew no boundaries.

Suddenly Sara Graiman appeared at his shoulder.

"Good news, guys. We've found a scientist to help out for a while," she informed Billy and Zoe.

"Oh, who?" Billy asked, excited. All of them missed Doctor Charles Graiman. The scientist and creator had been truely brilliant.

"My cousin, Meredith McKay had agreed to come and help out."

"Meredith?" he asked, eyes sparkling. "Is she hot?" he wanted to know. "Ow!" he continued as Zoe hit him on the back of his head. "What? I was only asking!"

Suddenly a new voice interrupted their conversation from behind. "I've been told I'm hot before, but never by another guy."

A cold, sinking feeling swept over Billy. Suddenly he knew just who Meredith McKay was. Slowly he turned around to look at the man hugging Sara.

"Oh, Mer, it's so good to see you!" the lovely woman was saying. Billy didn't care and he knew Zoe must be feeling the same dread. At school they had been warned, after all.

"Mer, meet the guys. This is Billy and Zoe. Mike and KITT aren't here right now." She smiled at Billy and Zoe. "Guys, this is my cousin, Mer McKay."

"Yes, but only Sara gets to call me that. You can call me Rodney," the other man smiled.

Billy held out his hand in greeting. "D...d...doctor Rodney McKay?" he stammered. He felt Zoe stiffen beside him.

"Yes," Rodney said as he shook the younger man's hand. Then he greeted Zoe.

Fortunately Sara dragged the Doctor away, intending to show him the rest of the facilities. Slowly Billy and Zoe sank into their seats again. Neither said a word. Rodney McKay had a fearsome reputation and Billy had actually attended one of the Doctor's lectures one day. The poor student who had asked McKay that question still had nightmares, the last he had heard!

Billy was having a bad day.

######

"I'm so sorry to hear about your father," Rodney told his cousin, awkwardly patting her on the shoulder. Sara smiled at him.

"So, where will you be staying?" she asked him. Rodney frowned. Had he said something wrong? Wasn't he allowed to talk about her dad? Really, sometimes he wished he was better with people.

"Well, where do you guys live?" He looked around. The facility seemed large enough to house the few people working on the project.

"We live here, in the pods," she replied. "Let me show you."

He tagged along as she showed him the set-up. It wasn't too big, but right now that wasn't his first consideration. "Is there a pod I can stay in?" he inquired.

"You want to stay here? In a pod,' she asked, incredulous. She looked at the small rooms. "We will pay for any accommodation you'd like."

"Well, right now I would actually like to be somewhere my former employers can't find me," he told her. He was still upset by how the Atlantis team – people he had considered friends – had treated him.

"Oh, okay," Sara said. "Where did you work?" she continued.

Rodney looked at the lovely woman. Actually, the last time he had seen her she had been an awkward teenager. "To tell you that you need at least level 6 military security clearance."

Sara frowned. "I didn't know the clearance went that high. So no, my clearance isn't that high."

"Then I really can't tell you," Rodney said. Yet a part of him wished he could tell her. Of all his family she would have been the one to appreciate it the most – or at all! She had not sold out to marry an English-major, after all.

Just as they returned to the main hangar, huge doors slid open and KITT rolled in. At the moment the vehicle was a sleek, black Mustang.

"KITT!" Rodney called, happy to see his friend.

"Doctor McKay," the cool voice of the car greeted him.

Rodney rushed over to the car, grabbing a laptop from a nearby counter. A Lorne-like young man stepped out of the car, but Rodney ignored him. All of his attention was on the piece of technological wonder. The car was made with nano-technology; something that Rodney now knew could be either friend or foe.

"Umm, Rodney," Sara said. Rodney looked up to see the young man holding out his hand. Quickly he shook it. "Rodney," Sara continued, "you remember Mike Traceur?"

Rodney looked at the young man. He really did resemble Lorne: that same blonde good looks, that same cocky military confidence. "Nope," he finally answered his cousin.

"But you've met him," she said, frowning. "Mike and I grew up together."

Again Rodney looked at the Lorne-clone called Mike. Come to think of it, what was Lorne's first name? "Umm, no. Did you write any scientific papers I might have read?"

Mike frowned. "No, I'm the driver."

"Huh? Oh."

Considering the conversation finished, he returned to his perusal of KITT. The car was already showing off his engine and fancy hood.

Sara sighed. "The same old Mer," she mumbled. She grinned at Mike. This was going to be an interesting adjustment.