Project Genesis (12 page)

“Slade’s got
nothing on our calendar other than the command performance with all the teams
at noon today.”

Vin winced and
checked his watch. Nine thirty. At least an hour to Helen’s place and an hour
back, he’d cut it pretty close for the meeting. Harkum eyed him across the
table. Earlier, his best friend offered to ride with to take Helen back. They’d
both be late.

Time to go. “Are
you done?”

Helen finished the
last of her drink and though her brown gaze didn’t exactly brim with energy,
she gave him a firm nod and rose to her feet. Vin nudged his plate toward Sen
to dispose. “Harkum and I are taking Helen home. Should be back in time for the
meet and greet.”

“Are you
connected?” Rock countered setting his PCU on the table.

Vin tapped his ear
and his ever present ear com. His men nodded, bumped fists with him and called
out goodbyes to Helen.

Chapter 13

How could an hour
car ride through DC and MD traffic go so quickly? Helen used her hip to shut
the door of the black SUV they’d arrived in and glanced up at the welcoming
entrance of her condo. The small flower bed she’d planted last year showed
budding shoots breaking the ground as spring attempted to make an earlier
appearance than predicted. Her white Cayenne sparkled in the drive reflecting
the wax job from Friday evening. Everyday normal. Nothing to indicate an Earth
in crisis.

The unexpected
quiet of the neighborhood rang false. Today, windows and doors remained shut
tight. Curtains pulled closed to protect the occupants. Usually children’s
laughter poured forth on a weekend. Parents typically sat outside keeping a
mindful eye on little ones. The family atmosphere of her street accounted for
part of the reason she’d been sold on the property. Not that she ever thought
about children when she bought the place.

Thirty loomed
closer though and her birthday signaled the inevitable ticking of her clock.
Each year, she put off family wanting to wait until she cemented her spot at
LS&G. Now she wondered in the grand scheme of things how important that
was.

Vin came striding
around the hood while Harkum stayed seated in the back. Helen waved at him and
received an indecipherable chin lift. Since she’d witnessed Vin doing the same
thing in the past, she assumed it was guy speak for goodbye.

“You don’t have to
walk me to the door, Vin.”

He snorted and
gripped her hand on his trek up her walkway. Unless she wanted to be dragged,
Helen trotted to keep up. In front of her beautiful oak door, his raised brow
waited on her. Horror dawned. She didn’t have her keys. No purse. No money.
Tears burned the back of her throat. Damn it, was today going to suck too?
Helen willed away the water works.

Vin’s knuckles
brushed her jaw. “It’s okay. I can get you in.” He squatted to eye level with
her brass door knob and matching locks then dug around in his utility belt and
retrieved a multi-faceted tool. In seconds, her door popped open.

Inside, her alarm
began a distant beep, sending Helen rushing through toward the blinking
security panel to punch in her birthday. After a final beep, the lights
switched from red to green. Vin stood in her small entry way framed by the
still open door. His gaze swept through her living room and the adjoining
dining area with hard eyes. “I’ll check the rest of your place before leaving.”

Her protest died
on her lips as he took the stairs two at a time to her upper level. Helen
sighed and headed toward her kitchen. On second thought, she turned taking the
path Vin had to her bedroom. Getting into clean clothes was a priority. Her
bedroom took up most of the upstairs. The second smaller space served as an
office for the long hours she spent working from home.

Somehow she
expected her place to be different. Disturbed. But Rekabians hadn’t been
sighted this far in the county. Nothing had been disrupted. Her perfume bottles
lined in size order smallest to largest on her dresser just as she left them.
Her king size bed was neatly made from when she’d left for work Saturday
morning.

Vin stood next to
her bed, head bowed studying something in his hand. Helen walked closer,
curiosity getting the best of her. She couldn’t imagine what he’d find
fascinating among her stuff since he’d been here many times.

 “You sleep in
this?”

Vin raised white
fabric in her direction. He must have picked it up from her side of the bed.
Helen tried to recall if she’d dropped it in her rush to get downtown. She came
closer and reached for the shirt but his arm raised high.

That’s when Helen
recognized the tee shirt she
had
slept in the night before. For months
in fact. Cheeks aflame, she snapped, “I thought you were going to check on
things and leave.”

“You sleep in my
shirt, hellcat?”

There was wonder
and another note she couldn’t identify in his voice. He tossed it on her bed
and approached her on silent feet. Helen swallowed. “You left it, its
comfortable. Ownership is nine tenths of the law.” Or something like that.

Of course, that
didn’t explain why she hadn’t washed it. The faint trace of Vin’s scent
lingered in the material and on nights when Helen found it difficult to sleep,
she snuggled in the overly large shirt and drifted off.

“What happened to
Gator Nation?” His tone mocked even as he cupped her elbows and drew her up
onto her toes bringing them close together.

“Gator Nation,
rocks.” She defended her alma mater and managed to move her arms together in a
chomping motion. The first time he’d seen her Gator wear, he’d rolled his eyes
and tossed it over her head and onto the floor.

Vin shook his
head. “You swore sleeping in that orange and blue jersey helped you focus in
the morning for your job.”

He’d once implied
her support for the football and basketball team bordered on obsession. Since
he wasn’t an alumni, Helen allowed him his misconception. After she lied about
the reason for sleeping in it, he’d let the subject drop. Not that she often
got to wear sleepwear on the nights he stayed over.

Somehow, Vin
lowered her to her mattress and Helen soon had a two hundred pound male
pressing in on her. “You sleep in my shirt for a reason?”

Shrugging, Helen
placed her hands on the tops of his shoulder. Maybe it was time they both came
clean and talked about their relationship. “What do you want from me, Vin?”

Not bothering to
answer, Vin kissed her jaw softly. Helen arched her neck and jumped when he
nipped her throat. His tongue trailed up her neck and sucked her earlobe
between his teeth. Helen pushed back at his chest but he was an immovable
object.

“You want me,” he
murmured when he released her ear and not giving her a chance to respond,
kissed her deeply, tongue delving deep into her mouth.

A kiss of
ownership. The claim unmistakable in its fierce intensity. Helen moaned and
arched beneath him. How did he do this to her? Bring her this quickly to the
heat and heart of passion. Her protesting hands turned to grips of love. She
splayed her fingers in the material of his shirt and clenched tight drawing him
closer.

Vin ground his
lower half against hers and Helen cried out. The rough pad of his fingers
caressed the hollow of her throat, thumb rubbing up and down with light
pressure. The move was controlled. Nothing accidental about it at all. Helen
gulped.

When he pulled
back from the kiss, his eyes glittered down at her. “You want me,” he repeated,
daring her to deny it.

Helen kept her
lips fused together. Not accepting her silence, Vin reached down and unzipped
her jacket, the teeth overly loud in the quiet of her bedroom. The back of his
knuckles brushed her braless nipples. His touch sent liquid fire pinging to her
center.

It took all her
strength but Helen forced her fingers to release the death hold on his shirt.
“What do you want from me, Vin?” She repeated her earlier question.

“I want you,” he
breathed and gently pulled on her bottom lip with his teeth. When he let go,
Helen sighed.

But again she had
to remind herself that all they’d shared was sex.

“That’s the easy
answer.” One she was no longer willing to accept.

Her words seemed
to break whatever spell he was under and he leaped to his feet. She wondered if
he deliberately created the distance between them. They’d had their night but
she needed clarity. “You said one night. What are you thinking now, Vincent?”

Broad shoulders
moved up then down. “It was good. Better than good. I figured we could have
another go round.”

Old feelings of
insecurity began to surface but she battled them back. “No, Vin.” She shook her
head and forced a smile. “We can’t.” Helen wanted love and commitment. A man to
wake up to every morning. One who loved her and wasn’t afraid to show it.
Because that’s what she finally realized she needed. What her heart secretly
desired.

“The few seconds
on your bed a moment ago say different.” He folded his thick forearms over his
chest and tilted his head.

Helen wanted to
swipe the taunting smirk from his face. “Sex was never hard for us, Vin. Two
years together proved that. But when you left me without a word, it also proved
that we had nothing more. I want more, do you?”

“More sex? I’d
never turn that down.”

Resentment rose.
She pushed up to a sitting position. Experience blocking her emotions kept
Helen from reacting to his deliberate attempt to rile her. His body language
indicated a lack of concern for how he insulted the both of them with the
ignorant claim.

Helen thought
about his recent actions which were opposite of his behavior now. The sex, the
latte, his determination to check her house and the curiosity about his tee
shirt. She debated her next actions and decided to lay it on the line. Putting
her fear aside with her history required monumental strength. Helen reached
deep inside for the courage she used to face vendors and directors of the
distribution centers in America and Asia.

Going on faith,
Helen risked it all. “I think we could have more, Vin. I’m willing if you are.”

His laugh held a
tinge of sadness. “I can’t, Helen.”

Her heart
shriveled in her chest. Like a wounded animal, Helen wanted to curl up and
hide.

***

Vin fought a cold
sweat. Regret soured the taste in his mouth. Helen’s face had gone ashen, eyes
overly bright. No longer rooted to the spot by her plea he turned, thinking
only of escape. He staggered through her bedroom door and stormed down the
stairs. His mind’s eye kept flashing Helen’s anguished look and he felt
slightly ill.

He’d had to do it,
Vin reminded himself. For a moment, he’d allowed himself to forget the
obstacles that stood between them. As soon as Vin returned to the Command
Center, he’d put this whole situation out of his mind. Why he ever thought he’d
manage to hold on to a slice of heaven with Helen was beyond him. Vin tried to
curb his raging emotions. Forever wasn’t in the cards for him and neither was a
family.

Helen’s feet
pitter pattered behind him and it took all Vin had to restrain the urge to
glance back. To get one more glimpse of the woman he couldn’t keep.

“Stop, Vincent.”

He hurried through
her entry way.

“Stop!”

The scream drew
him to a halt. Helen didn’t scream. She didn’t rant. Vin closed his eyes
briefly then dragged in a deep breath and turned. He owed her whatever pound of
pain she wanted to dig from his skin.   

Helen jammed her
hands under her armpits and marched down the stairs. Fury blazed like an unholy
light in her eyes. With her hair all over and in the ragged clothes, she looked
magnificent. “You don’t have anything to say after I bared all?”

He stiffened and
pressed his lips together. The only answer was no answer.

“Damn you,
Vincent. Damn you for not having the guts to want me enough to fight for me the
way I’d fight for you.”

“Maybe, I’m tired
of fighting.” Vin dropped the verbal bomb over his shoulders and did what he
did best. He left.

Chapter 14

The ride back to
DC tanked. Vin fisted his hands and cracked his knuckles. Helen’s last words
haunted him because he hadn’t answered truthfully.
‘Damn you for not having
the guts to want me enough to fight for me.’
The truth in all its
simplicity was easy. Vin was afraid he’d lose. If he thought for one moment
there was a chance that Slade wouldn’t destroy him or go after Helen, he’d risk
it.

Risk all, for the
chance to see if what he had with Helen could be real despite the fear brewing
in the back of his mind. His mind tried to sort the feeling in his chest when
he’d discovered she slept in his shirt. Possession and such all consuming
passion, he’d wanted to grip her tight and physically brand her with his mark.

Harkum stayed
silent, driving smoothly through 95 traffic going over 80 mph. Appreciation for
the speed soothed some of his self remorse. The last thing he needed was Slade
riding his ass about his tardiness.

“Want to talk
about it or hit the gym after the meet?”

Vin grunted, “What
are you now, my girl?”

Harkum laughed.
“The gym it is.”

“Good.” Vin leaned
back in his seat. “Bring your A game because I’m in the mood to go all out.”

“I hear ya.”

They pulled up to
the gate with fifteen minutes to spare. Off to the side, the rolling door to
the hanger slowly pulled closed. “Looks like the boys from Bravo are here.”

Vin and Harkum
leaped from the truck and jogged to the Command Center. Due to the larger
audience, Slade had them set up in the cafeteria for the meeting. Bursting
through the door after the visual security probe, he noted they beat Slade.

Alpha Squad, Delta
and Bravo filled up the closest tables. A mental count assured him of
everyone’s presence. Vin was relieved that no one sported any visible injuries.
Their missions must have been as successful.

“Ms. Scott good to
go?” Sen asked the question in a loud enough voice to turn attention from
mindless conversation to him.

Vin sat in an
empty seat, ignoring the back hand slap Harkum delivered on Sen’s shoulder. The
guys from Delta slouched in their seats but devoured the trays of food in front
of their table. Carb loading. Alpha Squad had empty plates around them. After
their enhanced abilities became apparent, they’d all noticed their increased
metabolism among other things. Their skills burned up as many calories as they could
eat.

The door slammed
and Slade strolled in. Dressed in a red polo shirt and creased khakis, he
appeared much calmer than earlier. “Now that everyone’s together, we’ll assess
the threat known as the Rekabians. A memo has been drafted from our office with
the accounting each team provided of their encounters with the alien life
forms. Those memos will download to your PCU’s before the afternoon is over.
I’m sure you’re all aware the President has ordered mass withdrawal of all US
troops on foreign soil. This is the first time this has been done since 2015
when we entered the decade of peace.”

Slade allowed them
time to absorb this before continuing. “Our orders are simple. We will defend
the country to the best of your newly acquired abilities. This is what we’ve
been expecting since the first space ship sighting and served as the basis for
why Project Genesis started.”

“First sighting?
When exactly did the government realize there was a threat to contend with?”
Harkum spoke in a reasonable tone but his tight shoulders revealed his anger at
this latest revelation.

Slade took a
stance in front of the tables where he could be seen. “Our satellites picked up
on the craft a year ago. Scientists, doctors and government officials set up
the Command Center here in DC with a specific plan in case the visitors proved
to be hostile upon arrival. When they entered our orbit, we moved forward with
the program starting with all of you.” 

“There are only
twenty-three of us. How are we expected to control the volume of attacks? We
can’t protect the whole planet by ourselves.” Rock broached what was on Vin’s
mind.

Slade leaned back
and stood at parade rest. “Good question, Sinclair. Once we realized the
success of Project Genesis, the US shared our work with countries who’d proven
their alliance. Those countries number in the hundreds and also have their own
troops of enhanced soldiers.”

“What?”

“This is
bullshit.”

Everyone spoke at
once but it was Delta Squad that Vin watched. Delta Squad whose team of ten sat
on the edge of their seats fairly vibrating. No one spoke much about the men
from Charlie who died during the initial trials but Vin was aware a few of the
Delta guys had been on deaths door as well. If anyone had cause to hate Slade
and the indentured servitude they’d been forced to enter, it was the Delta
guys.

All four teams
received separate doses and concentration of the body altering drugs. The
doctors in the labs recorded their reactions and side effects daily while
constantly changing the formulas they injected in the teams. The men in Charlie
died in less than forty-eight hours. The enhancement hormones and cocktails
given to Delta caused their flesh to fester and decay within the first month.

In a drastic move
to prevent losing another entire team, the doctors amputated the limbs infected
and added cybernetic substitutions. Not only did Delta have enhanced abilities,
they now had enhanced bodies. And hated it. Each and every man.

“Quiet. This is
our opportunity to put your training to use. We’ll play the part as we’ve
always promised.”

“We? What part do
you play exactly?” Cal Jones, the Delta team lead asked in a gravely voice. His
head tipped to the side, revealing a red eye implant with digital recording
capabilities.

Slade’s arms
dropped to his side, his lips curled down in a frown. “All of us have a part,
Jones. You don’t like it take it up with me later.”

Jones started to
rise to his feet but the man on his left grabbed his shoulder and yanked him
back in his seat. Considering the visible steel plate on the dude’s wrist, Vin
didn’t think Jones would get back up again until ready.

“Any other
questions?” Slade deliberately excluded Delta and focused on the rest of them.
At least he had enough sense not to expect quarter from that end. “Bravo?”

Jace shook his blond
head. “We’re good.” As team lead, Jace spoke for the other five fly boys who
leaned back with elbows braced on the table behind them.

Their glares
promised death to Slade and Vin mirrored the sentiment. As their handler, Slade
had a purpose but none of them liked him. He was too quick to sacrifice them
when the brass came calling and just as quick to accept accolades for work they
did in the field.

“What about you,
Michaels? Did you take care of the earlier problem?”

Vin jerked but
Harkum kicked him under the table. A reminder to stay cool. “No problems, sir.
We delivered the civilian safely home.”

Slade came closer
to Vin’s end of the table brown eyes intense. Everyone’s attention centered on
the two of them. “Did you impress upon Ms. Scott the need for secrecy?”

Vin hesitated and
tried to figure out what game Slade played. Cause surely there was more to his
carefully worded question. If the bastard remotely hinted at harming Helen, Vin
would lose his mind. “Yes, sir. Ms. Scott understood completely.”

“Yes, Helen Scott
seems like the type who’d take orders well wouldn’t you say?”

Fury overpowered
rational thought. Vin blamed it on the twisted smile combined with the hurt
he’d dealt Helen. Jumping from his seat, he dodged Harkum’s futile grab and
punched Slade in his smiling face. The black man’s head snapped to the side but
he bounced back and jabbed at Vin’s gut. The blow glanced off his stomach as
Vin stepped to the side and came up behind Slade. Though Slade trained in
combat, months of sparring with an enhanced team made Vin faster and better
than Slade.

Vin pinned Slade’s
arm in a painful hold behind his back with one hand and wrapped his other arm
around Slade’s neck. Vin leaned in close to keep the others from hearing. “You
don’t get to fuck with Helen. Sir.”

“You’re just
meat,” Slade whispered in Vin’s ears their faces side by side. “Helen Scott’s
getting off on the thrill of being with a guy outside her norm. She’d never
take you on long term, Michaels.”

Vin jerked his arm
higher enjoying the grunt of pain. Slade continued in a taunting voice. “You’re
a freak, Vincent Michaels, and any woman interested in marriage and children
wouldn’t risk what you have in your DNA mixing with hers.” Slade voiced Vin’s
inner most thoughts aloud.

Harkum pulled at
Vin’s shoulder. “Let him go, man. Just walk away from Slade’s bullshit.”

In Vin’s mind, he
saw the pain etched on Helen’s face when he’d walked out on her. Pain he’d
caused when he swore he’d never hurt the one person who cared for him without
asking for anything in return. And Slade wanted to fuck with that?

Absolutely not.
Vin used his leg and swiped at Slade’s, taking both of them to the floor. Slade
shouted and bucked his back. Vin hooked his arm tighter around Slade’s throat
and yanked until the man’s neck arched back in pain.

Harkum had both
arms around his waist and Vin knew he had seconds before the stronger man would
break the hold. Vin applied the slightest pressure and Slade stilled, instantly
knowing what that deadly adjustment meant.

“Helen Scott is
the reason I won’t kill you right this minute. If you ever want to play
roulette with your life, cause her the slightest hurt. She’s the leash that
holds me from you.”

Vin released his
handler with a shove. All of the teams were on their feet watching the tableau.
Slade rose to his feet with a glare. He fixed the collar of his shirt and
smirked at Vin though a flash of fear came and went in the brown depths. “Well,
now that you have that out of your system, I’ll give out the orders from the
General.”

Anger still pulsed
hot and raging but Vin inhaled a calming breath and exhaled slowly. He trusted
Slade understood his message loud and clear. Helen wasn’t to be touched.
Knowledge of her safety was the only thing holding Vin together.

Slade pulled up
data on his screen and began assigning shifts that they’d work around while
they formed a plan to battle the aliens. The other teams gave him a subtle nod
of approval. They may not have heard everything but with enhanced hearing, they
would have understood the context of some of the conversation.

His men in Alpha
Squad were on their feet, shoulders locked, hands fisted at their side. If
looks could kill, David Slade would be dead ten times over. None of his team
wanted to see harm come to Helen. Each of them had walked away from friends and
family in some fashion due to Project Genesis.

No one would be
allowed the right to destroy the reason behind their capitulation in
participating in the experimental trials. Helen was Vin’s reason for going on
day after day.