Lucy & Keegan1000

Chapter 3

By

Mirishka

Lucy cursed under her breath and stormed to the door flinging it open.

"I swear to god Mishy I'm going to..."

"No time for that now, you'll have to bitch at me later. Right now Keegan has to leave." She looked behind Lucy and nodded to Keegan. "They're here."

"You sure Mish?" Keegan moved closer to the door. Lucy's mouth fell open... 'Mish?'

"Yes, Melanie called and said you'd been followed so she's going to meet you in the alley, go down the fire escape in my apartment, she should be there now." Mishy took Lucy's hand and pulled her out of the doorway and into the hall. Keegan followed and moved towards Mishy's apartment.

"What the hell is going on? Who's Melanie? And since when did you call my friend 'Mish'? Her voice directed towards Keegan who at this time was opening the door to Mishy's apartment. She couldn't understand what was going on. They knew each other?

"No time hon, please trust me and I promise I'll explain everything once Keegan is safe. Come on. NOW!" She pushed open her door and Keegan raced through. He turned and pointed to Lucy, "We're not done here, trust me." Lucy tried to move towards him but Mishy was already closing the door and locking it. She turned to face Lucy and took hold of her hands. "I'll explain everything, I promise. But right now, you have to trust me. Let me do all the talking." Within moment of her finishing her words two men appeared from the stairwell door, they headed towards them.

"Aw Lucy you arranged dates for us? You little minx you." Mishy greeted the two men with a flash of her smile. She may be fifty-one but looked much younger, still pretty and had a great body.

Lucy's surprised face could have given them away had Mishy not pulled her towards her giving her a big hug, "Smile honey." She whispered in her ear. When she let her go Lucy turned back towards the two men who seemed to be conversing with their sleeves.

"Nothing here, hold on." One of them spoke to a concealed radio or something then addressed Mishy.

"Sorry to interrupt ladies we're looking for a fugitive. Has anyone passed this way?"

Mishy quickly replied. "I'm sure if there'd been anyone we would have seen. There are only three apartments on this floor, myself and my friend have these two and the one at the end is occupied by a sweet old lady who doesn't open the door unless she calls the police first!" She tried to make light of the situation. She also wanted to keep them talking to give Keegan chance to get down the fire escape and into Melanie's car.

"Who are you looking for, are they dangerous? Should we be worried?" Lucy nervously asked.

The two men continued scanning the area, the hallway had an elevator and the stairwell, there was also a small area filled with green plants and shrubs in large containers. When they were sure the area was clear one of them spoke into his sleeve again. "We're clear here Sir, nothing." There was a moments silence then, "Roger that." He turned to his partner, "Nothing, must have been a mistake, let's go."

They both looked at the women and apologized for the interruption then left via the stairwell.

Mishy breathed out a sigh of relief. Lucy's mouth gaped and she stood silent for a few moments before turning to Mishy.

"You and me need to talk! Right now!"

Mishy looked sheepish as she shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry! I don't like lying to you and never have. But it was necessary."

Lucy was just about containing her anger, she had no idea what was going off, she'd known Mishy as long as she'd lived with her aunt. How did she know Keegan, and who were these men? She stared at Mishy in disbelief.

Mishy took Lucy's hand and headed for the elevator. "Come with me hon, I'll explain on the way."

"Way to where?" Lucy asked as she were being half dragged along.

"You want to know about the Shareem don't you? Then move it."

They hurried into the elevator, Lucy was still in shock. Her friend was acting like a James Bond hussy and had interrupted her perfect moment. "Who were those men Mishy?"

"Agents from the government, they've been hunting the Shareem." She glanced over at Lucy who had a face like thunder. "And you know this how?" Lucy asked with her brows raised. "I'll fill you in, promise, right now we need to get out of here."

Lucy shook her head and let out a huge sigh, what she wouldn'g give to be back in her apartment with Keegan. Her thoughts took her back to the kiss. If she never kissed another man in her life it wouldn't matter, because that kiss was memorable. She was quite sure there would be nothing to compete with that. She turned to look at Mishy who was twiddling with her car keys. Know she knows why she never married. Lucy had thought Mishy and her aunt were together as in a 'couple' but never saw anything to confirm. But now she had an idea. After spending some time with a Shareem, nothing would compare with that experience. So she'd chosen not to get married. I think I know how she feels.

They exited the elevator and quickly headed to the car. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see, come on hon, you'll love it." Mishy got in the car and started up the engine. Lucy climbed in and fastened her seat belt. She stared at Mishy. "You know, I always knew there was something dodgy about you."

"Dodgy! What do you mean 'dodgy'?" She grinned.

"Well I know one thing for sure, you've not been going to Rumba classes...or Salsa classes for the last few years cause I've seen you dance, and you suck."

Mishy burst out laughing as she pulled out of the car park. Lucy managed to crack a smile too and watched the road to see where her secret service friend were taking her.

They drove into a wealthy part of town. The high rollers owned full apartment blocks and usually lived on a whole floor rather than one apartment. Lucy gazed out of the window, her thoughts all in a muddle. She'd given up asking Mishy any more questions and waited to see where they were going. The drove down a ramp into a car park, Mishy pulled up at the barrier and swiped a card she produced from the glove compartment at the station point and entered in a code. The barrier lifted and she drove through. She pulled into a reserved lot and parked up. "Here we are, lets go."

Lucy had no idea why they were parking in a reserved car parking space in an exclusive apartment block. The person she thought she new was coming up with one surprise after another. She watched Mishy get out of the car and then followed. Looking around to see if anyone saw them, she felt nervous.

"We shouldn't be here." she whispered but Mishy just smiled and lead the way to the elevator. Taking a key from her purse, she inserted it into the key pad, turned it and punched in a five digit code. The elevator moved and within a few moments glided to a halt. After the doors opened Mishy showed Lucy the door. "After you." Lucy's mouth fell open. Where the hell where they and... "Oh my god this place is amazing!" She quickly looked around the huge foyer that was filled with exquisite ornaments. The floor was tiled in marble and each door was made from walnut. It was luxurious and she's never seen anything like it. It was huge and she couldn't stop gawping.

"Come on hon, there's someone you need to meet." Mishy took her hand and lead the way towards a door. They entered and once again Lucy found herself staring at the opulence. After a few moments her eyes met Keegan, leaning up against the back of a sofa with his arms folded across his chest. He'd changed into black jeans and a white tight vest. She'd never seen him with his hair loose and for the zillionth time her mouth fell open. He smiled and gave her a wink.

"Hello dear!" An attractive woman drew her focus away from Keegan as she approached her with her hand extended. "It's good to meet you after all this time, how are you?" Lucy's non plussed expression gave her away. "I'm sorry...I don't."

"Lucy this is Melanie, she's the master mind behind the Shareem." Mishy interrupted.

"Oh my god! It's a pleasure to meet you." Lucy took Melanie's hand and shook it vigorously before realizing her mouth was gaping again. "Sorry, I'm just overwhelmed with all of this." she pointed around the room after releasing her hand.

"No worries, I'm sure you've had a lot to take in over the last few hours, Mishy has told me about you for so long I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see you."

Lucy turned to look at Mishy who was now looking down at the floor with her hands behind her back.

"When Keegan told me about you, it took me a few moments to make the connection, you knowing Mishy I mean."

"Oh I don't know her...I really don't." sarcasm spilled from Lucy's mouth.

"Come on in and make yourselves comfortable, I expect you have lots of questions." Melanie ushered them to the sofa's and quickly brought out some refreshments. They sat in silence while she poured everyone a drink. Keegan joined them and sat next to Melanie while Mishy and Lucy took up the other sofa. She could feel his eyes burning in to her as he raked them over her body. Wishing she were back home she sighed. Just the two of them, kissing and what ever else they would have got up to if they'd had the chance then she realized she were blushing, her face felt hot. Keegan grinned, he could read her like a book.

"Thank you for taking care of everything Mishy, I got the tip that they were following Keegan and knew you'd deal with it perfectly."

"My pleasure, I loved getting one over on those assholes." Lucy almost choked on her drink, she had no idea who this woman was. "Can everyone please fill me in now?" Lucy tried to be polite but it was starting to wear thin, everyone knew everyone and she was starting to feel left out.

"I owe you an explanation Lucy but first I need to apologize. For thirty years I've kept this secret. Even your dear aunt didn't know. We couldn't risk telling anyone for fear it would leak out. When I came over last night and saw the file you had I knew it had been Keegan you'd met. He'd already told Dr Laas, I mean Melanie about someone he'd met and that she was special, after he told her where you lived she realized who you were. So she contacted me to see what you knew. Which is why I didn't go to my 'rumba' class on Thursday." She grinned.

Lucy was now starting to accept shocking details as the norm and managed to keep her mouth firmly shut. Keegan moved over to sit next to her and put his arm around her. "I knew I could trust you from the moment I saw you in the cafe." He kissed the top of her head and gave her a squeeze, she suddenly felt dizzy. The effect he had on her was unbelievable and she thought she wouldn't ever get used to it.

Lucy addressed Melanie after taking another drink, "So you're the inventor of the Shareem?"

"Yes I am, one of my proudest moments of my entire career. Albeit too short. Once the government realized what was happening they got together an outlawed it, put an end to all of it. Such a shame." she shook her head and took a sip from her whiskey filled glass.

"What did they realize?" A puzzled Lucy asked.

"That no woman would ever want to get married and settle down with a 'normal' man after being introduced to the world of the Shareem of course. Would you put up with a drinking philandering husband after you'd had a taste of one of my boys?"

Lucy smiled. Oh she was getting it now. The government that was in power when Dr Laas started the clinic was mostly run by women. There had been a rise in the number of girls born back in the 90's. After the fourth war when most of the young men didn't return home it was up to the women to lead the people. They'd had their hands in lots of projects to ensure equality throughout the world and given that men had their escorts and vices they felt that women should have the same. Only after a few years when the next generation of men came back into government leadership did they decide it wasn't right. And it made sense, why would a woman settle for anything less than perfection?

"When I was eighteen I was lucky enough to get a job as a lab assistant for Dr Laas. I loved my job and watching her create perfection was amazing. Your aunt worked for the lawyers that the government used. Once they starting talking about closing DNAmo she told me. So naturally I told Melanie-Dr Laas and we began preparing. I couldn't tell your aunt because of her position. It's not that I didn't trust her but I didn't want to put her in a sticky situation. You understand that right?"

Lucy nodded. Mishy reached for her hand and smiled, "We were friends for so long and I trusted her with my life, but it would have made her life difficult if she'd known, please don't hate me." Her eyes filled with tears. Lucy squeezed her hand tightly, "I could never hate you Mishy, you're special to me and I understand completely."

Dr Laas placed her glass on the coffee table and got up. She moved towards the door and began speaking. "The one thing that gives away my boys is that they haven't aged. Well I mean they have but only slightly, their DNA was designed so that they would be forever young. But it's their downfall. I've been working on a serum to slowly age them, that way they will blend in more easily. The only photo's of them are from thirty years ago so I'm hoping after I've aged them they'll be able to walk among us freely." She held open the door and gestured towards Lucy. "Why don't you come with me and meet some of my boys." Lucy's eyebrows raised and she turned to Keegan and smiled. "You're not alone?"

"Nope. I have family." He grinned and stood up. Taking her by the hand he lead her to the door. They were followed by Mishy.

They all followed Dr Laas down the large corridor to another room which she'd made into her lab. Lucy looked around at all the equipment, she must have taken it from DNAmo before the closure. She'd still been working on the Shareem even after they shut her down. She truly was dedicated. Trying to help them obtain a normal life by helping them blend in they obviously meant a lot to her. Referring to them as 'her boys' she probably see's them as her sons now.

A noise was heard from the side room which made Lucy turn her eyes towards the door.

"It's okay Drogo you can come out we have a new friend you should meet." Dr Laas pushed open the door a little wider as the man appeared. Lucy stared and took in a huge deep breath. The man entered the lab and smiled at her before moving towards Mishy. He wrapped his huge arms around her and raised her up in a bear hug. "Hey baby-girl." Mishy blushed and hugged him back. When he finally put her down she rearranged her clothing and grinned at Lucy. Drogo was even bigger than Keegan. His long black hair was tied in a ponytail and reached his backside. Lucy couldn't help notice the large scar that marked the left side of his cheek and eyebrow. He looked older than Keegan by quite some years, she realized that Dr Laas must have been using the serum on him. Stretching out a hand he waited for her to take it. It swamped hers as she shook his hand but it felt like a velvet glove rather than skin.

"Drogo is a level two, he's been with me here since we left DNAmo." She looked over towards Keegan, "He only joined us a few months ago, we found him by accident in a bar fight on the edge of town. One of my spies noticed him and so Drogo and I went to see him. He came back with us and now he's back with the family."

Keegan lunged at Dr Laas and hugged her, "And I'm very thankful."

"You see that the serum has been used on Drogo Lucy?"

"Yes I do. It's remarkable Dr Laas."

"We'll be starting injections for Keegan within a few days, I'm just processing his batch and it will be ready in a few days. Each Shareem have a unique DNA structure so the serum has to be matched to each of them. Drogo volunteered to be the guinea-pig a few weeks ago and we're pleased with the results."

Everyone agreed and Keegan reached over and slapped Drogo across the shoulders. "You look old enough to be my daddy now!" Drogo glared at him before grinning.

"So is this everyone? I mean, just Drogo and Keegan are the only Shareem left?" Lucy watched Keegan and Drogo slapping and punching each other as they fooled around.

"Actually no." Dr Laas looked at Mishy and smiled. Lucy saw the look and wondered what was going off.

"Dr Laas thinks she's found Kala989. After we'd been shut down he went missing before we had a chance to bring him here. He's being held prisoner by a gang. Someone blabbed they'd had a good time with a Shareem at a private party in one of the gangs hotels. We did some recon and confirmed he's still there. They're pimping him out to anyone with enough money to pay. Drogo and Keegan are planning to get him out soon." There was a hope in Mishy's eyes.

"Oh my god, that's terrible!" Lucy's concern was genuine, she knew that there was obviously still love there.

"I plan on giving Kala the serum too. I still had a sample of his DNA so I've already made it. I can age them as little or as much as necessary. All they have to do after the initial treatment is to make sure they take an injection once a week then they'll age naturally." She turned to look at Drogo, Lucy could see there was something there between them. Keegan finished fighting with Drogo and moved towards Lucy. She felt like part of the family as he put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Aren't you gonna introduce me to our new guest too?" A deep husky voice echoed around the room. Lucy turned quickly to see who was speaking. Her expression said it all. Mouth ajar, eyebrows raised and dumbstruck. Who the hell is this?